“Theo!” she half growled at me. “You scared the bejesus out of me.” There was a towel soaring past my head that I dodged.
She looked beautiful, and I was feeling a little bold tonight.
Moving farther into the kitchen, I walked toward her, stopping behind her while her body still faced the counter and window. I leaned down slightly so my head was by hers. “My apologies, love.” My voice was low and filled with more emotions than a “friend” should have right now. A shiver moved through her body and I was pleasantly surprised she made no move to get out from in front of me.
Wanting to drag out the moment, I waited a hair’s breadth away from her. The desire to touch her was overwhelming, and my hands flexed by my side. My body moved on its own as my hand drifted up to trail one finger down the bare curvature of her neck and across her shoulder blade. She was as soft as I remembered, maybe even more so. I ached to press my lips against the skin that Ionce called home.
She sucked in a quick breath but remained a statue in front of me. All the life we lived between who we were and who we are seemed to hang in the delicate balance we’ve created. She clearly drew the line of friendship out in front of us, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy toeing the line from time to time.
Making sure I didn’t push my luck, I moved from my spot and asked for her to give me a task to help finish dinner.My hands needed to be occupied, otherwise I’d have to fight to keep them to myself again.
Her house was on the smaller side, and there was only one couch, not much bigger than a loveseat. We had settled on opposite ends like normal, and watched a movie with a foot of space in between us that might as well have been the Grand Canyon.
I think I paid more attention to her than to the TV tonight, but if she noticed, she didn’t let me know. Instead, her eyes would bounce from the screen over to me from time to time. She was fidgety, her mouth would open before she would snap it shut without saying a word.
When the movie ended, I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay wrapped up in the comfort of her home, where I could be close to her even if she kept me at arm’s length. I contemplated coaxing her into starting the next movie in the series. Until she hit me with a statement I didn’t see coming.
“So, I’m going on a date,” she said, while fiddling with the frayed edge of the blanket and avoiding eye contact with me.
“A date?”
What. The. Fuck.
She made a noncommittal noise in her throat, still with no eye contact. She shrugged her shoulders at me while I kept staring. “Abby and Carina set me up with a guy they work with.” She finally looked up from her lap at me, her brows pinched together. She was nervous about it, my answer or the date, I couldn’t tell which.
Fucking Abby.
She was the first person to know that I came back for Lennon, she knew my feelings. But what did she do? Went and set her up with some pretentious ass from the law firm she worked at.
My blood was boiling beneath my skin as I scrubbed my hand down the length of my face. “That’s great, Lennon. If it’s what you want, then I’m happy for you.” I decided against the second movie. We cleaned up the kitchen in silence and plates were put back with a bit more roughness than I was going for.
It wasn’t anger that was coursing through my blood; it was blatant jealousy.
That should be me taking her on a date, not some random man she knows nothing about. Would he know not to take her to sushi because she hates the smell of fish? That she prefers quiet booths over tables in the middle of a restaurant? Would he know that even the slightest change in plans causes her mind to reel?
These are little pieces of her I’ve discovered over the new time we have spent together. I know I could make her happy. I just needed a chance.
Lennon trailed behind me as I made my way to the front door, her sock cladded feet shuffled against the wood floor. Before I made my way out of the door, a quick decision passed through my mind.
I turned back to meet her gaze. Her eyes were wide and full of concern as she looked back at me. Scanning her face for any sign that I should stop, I took a step closer, and then another. Until I could see the faint marbling of silver in her blue eyes.
For the second time, I reached out to her. My hand cupped her cheek briefly before sliding it back so that my fingers were tangled in her hair. My thumb stroked the soft part of the underside of her ear and her eyes drifted close slowly.
“Lenny.” My voice was dangerously low and laced with a hundred different versions of I want you.
“Yeah.” The word came out as a breath that skirted across my neck as she looked up at me. I cracked a smile—not just any smile, but a full teeth and dimple inducing smile—as I leaned in a fraction of an inch closer towards her full pink lips, her tongue darted out to wet her full bottom lip. I needed a Nobel Peace Prize for the amount of restraint I was exhibiting right now.
“Have a good night.” And before she had a chance to move or speak, I was out the door, grinning the entire walk to my car.
If she was opening up to dating, then I was throwing my hat in the ring. I needed to figure out how to tell her that I could fill that spot, too, if she’d let me.
nineteen
Lennon
Why was I doingthis?I asked myself as I slipped my feet into my favorite black leather mules and turned to the oversized mirror in my bedroom. I tilted my head from side to side and pursed my lips. I didn’t hate what I was wearing, but I didn’t feel like I’d hoped I would. The green silk of my thin strapped top gleamed against my tanned skin from the summer sun, but I would admit, it did look good.
Abby was supposed to be here by now.
