“Did you have a good day?” I ask finally, keeping my voice low.
“Mm-hmm.” He tilts his head a little, and that brings my cheek almost in contact with his. “I beat Nightmare King Grimm again.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. He’s so fucking fast.”
“Did you use Sharp Shadow?”
“It’s the only way. Sharp Shadow and Unbreakable Strength.”
“Hmm.”
His fingers caress along the back of my hand before settling again. “And, um, I managed to get a quote on car insurance. It wasn’t quite as bad as I was expecting.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I think maybe he’s going to elaborate, but he doesn’t. He just presses his hand into mine and sighs one more time. Then his fingers restart their gentle caress, tracing some pattern with a light, almost teasing touch.
My skin is on fire, I’m sure of it.
Sparks race up my arm and into my chest, their warmth spreading all the way down into my toes. I swallow back a groan, and I turn and bury my face into his hair as I shift my hips back a few inches. I swear I almost hear him huff a laugh, but that’s probably just my imagination. He keeps up the motion, his fingers light and soft, though his breathing seems to slow and deepen as the minutes pass.
It’s comforting in a way I’ve never really known before, holding my best friend like this and feeling the trust he has in me.
It’s also more than arousing, though I try my best to ignore my reaction and remind myself that this is... I mean, Ithinkthis is supposed to be platonic.
I’m just about to, I dunno, implode or something from the overload of incredible sensations when his fingers slide up mine and stop, his palm flattening against the back of my hand. He clears his throat lightly. “Um, h-how about you?” he asks.
“Me? What?”
“Your day. Was it good?”
“Oh, hmm.”
Before I can answer, Nico starts touching the back of my hand with just the tips of his fingers again, drawing little swirls and circles this time, and I can’t hold back. I let out some quiet little sound, a moan maybe, that rumbles in the back of my throat. And I pull him tighter against my chest and press my cheek to him.
“It was good. Mmm, much better now, though.”
He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t hesitate or tense up or pull away.Instead, he nods and says, “Yeah. For sure,” his voice a little rough.
Which sends all the wrong signals to the lower half of my body.
God.
Isthis supposed to be platonic?
Because if it is, I’m failing. Miserably.
Chapter Twenty-One
Nico
“Ughhhh.It’smorning?Already?”
“Mm-hmm, yeah. Fuck, sorry.”
