He huffed out a laugh. "Okay, so I had a thing for you senior year, but I knew better. You were too young for me. It wouldn't have been right."
"Had a thing for me?"
"You're not going to cut me an inch of slack, are you?" he asked.
I cocked my head. "You should know better than that."
He shook his head and laughed. "And to think I missed this."
My skin felt too tight for my body. I pulled my legs up, resting my heels on the couch cushions, and wrapped my arms around my shins.
"You've been...cold to me since then. Until this summer. Can you blame me for being skeptical?"
Brody leaned forward and rubbed his hands over his face. "I had to make sure you kept your distance," he admitted.
"Why?"
He met my eyes and chills broke out on my skin. His gaze was intense, as though he could see straight through me. Or he was inviting me to look into him. "Because if you didn't stay away, I wouldn't have been able to keep my hands off you."
Oh, my God. My nipples hardened and I was glad my legs were pressed against my chest so that he couldn't see the reaction he'd elicited.
"Do you realize how much it hurt?" I asked. "Before then, you were such a big part of my life. I spent so much time with you and Jay. I was lost when you put up that wall between us."
"I'm sorry."
His apology didn't magically heal me, but it did soften my heart toward him. Just a little.
"Apology accepted." I cleared my throat. "So what exactly are we doing now?" I had to laugh at the expression on Brody's face and lifted my hands up. "I'm unarmed, I swear."
"Unarmed?"
"You looked like I'd just pulled a gun on you."
He scowled at me. "Did not."
"Whatever you say."
Brody stared at me for a long moment. "Do you need a label on it?"
"Not as long as we're just hanging out," I answered with a shrug. "But it would be different if we were actually..." I trailed off.
"Dating?"
"Yeah, dating. If I'm making out with a guy on a regular basis, I like to have some kind of framework."
Brody suddenly looked very interested. "Such as?"
"Well, if I've been dating someone for a few weeks, I like to know if they're dating other people or not. I want to keep my expectations realistic. If he's seeing other people, I'm probably not going to let myself get in too deep. And if I'm getting naked with a man, then I better damn well be the only person he's doing that with." At the look on Brody's face, I asked, "What?"
"Keep your expectations realistic?"
"Yeah. If I really like a guy then find out he's not looking for a relationship, just some fun, then I'll be upset. If I know from the beginning that he doesn't want to get serious, I'm okay with that, but I'm going to keep my distance because I don't want to fall for a man who's banging every woman who'll give him the time of day."
"That actually happens?" Brody asked.
I laughed sardonically. "You were only married for seven years, Brody. Don't act like you didn't see men like that in action before."
He shook his head. "I've seen it. I just never understood it. I don't think I have the brainpower to date more than one woman at a time."
