Awareness flooded through me.
Just friends, I reminded myself.
Just bloody good friends.
I liked this woman too damn much to mess it up with sex.
“He wasn’t my type,” she replied so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.
“Hi, folks.” The lead singer’s voice crackled into the mic, halting my follow-up questions. “Thanks for coming out tonight. We’re the Steel Pennies.” They launched immediately into their first track, a fast rock song that had everyone around us bopping their heads and shifting their feet. The rhythm caught Lily, her body moving to the beat without thought. Her curvy arse moved against me, and I sucked in a breath, taking a step back with what I hoped was casualness. I rested my hands loosely on her warm hips instead so I could feel the movements without her undulating against me in a way that made me hard.
Feeling like someone was watching me, I glanced left and found Zac. His frown turned to a knowing smirk.
I ignored him and focused on the band because if I focused on the woman in front of me, I’d be unable to hide the physical representation of my appreciation for her.
“They were fantastic!” Lily cried happily as we all tumbled out of Whistlebinkies and into the much cooler night air. For the bar being deep in the Vaults with its stone walls and floors, it got bloody hot.
I smiled, happy she’d enjoyed herself, and watched as she pulled out her phone. “I’m going to follow them on socials.”
I peered down at her phone as our group walked toward the Royal Mile. Lily quickly tapped on the app, searched the band, and followed them. “Are you following me?”
She looked up at me in surprise. “No. Do you want me to?”
“Of course.” I pulled my mobile out of my pocket. “I’ll follow you. Follow me back.”
“I’m warning you now, my feed isn’t exactly exciting.” She proceeded to give me her handle.
Finding her, I clicked follow and then scrolled through her photos. I paused on one of her with a good-looking blond bloke with whom she appeared very cozy.
“Who’s this?” I asked, as the notification popped up on my screen to tell me she’d followed me back.
“Who?” Lily leaned in to see what I was looking at.
Her face glistened with sweat and her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the bar. I looked away quickly before I let very dirty thoughts take over my mind.
“Oh, that’s my cousin Luke. Well, he’s not technically blood related. But I think of him as my cousin.”
“But you’re not related? You look close.”
Lily laughed. “As close as cousins. Even if we didn’t think of each other like family, Luke would never be attracted to me.”
I scowled at that. “Anyone would be attracted to you.”
She shot me a look of confusion. But it melted away as she grinned cheekily, those adorable dimples tempting me to madness. “Luke prefers men.”
“Ah.” I laughed huskily at my strange possessiveness. I really needed to get over myself if Lily and I were to make a go at this friendship thing.
Lily suddenly frowned as we turned on the Royal Mile heading toward my flat. “Where are we going?”
“Our place.”
“Oh, I should head home.”
“Come back for a bit. Then I’ll walk you home.”
“I can grab a taxi.”
“No, I’ll see you home.” I threw a look at the girls following Harry and Zac back to our place. “If you leave, then I’m left with Illiana.”
