Heat explodes in my veins, my body aflame with a hunger I've rarely felt. I gasp as his lips find my collarbone, his tongue deliciously close to my sensitive nipples, but come to my senses before his lips reach mine.
“Blake,” I whisper as I gently push him off me. “Stop. You’re drunk.”
Something changes in his gaze as he blinks, his eyes taking on a peacefulness I don’t often see. His hand finds mine, our fingers laced together as he leans his head on my shoulder. “Thank you, Alexis.”
I press a kiss on the back of his palm. I might never be able to kiss Blake or sleep with him, no matter how badly I may want to. But Blake doesn’t seem to care about any of that–he treats me the same as before he found out, still flirting and testing my boundaries in the way only he can.
And so, as my siblings half-carry Blake back to the car and he glances over his shoulder at me, all I can do is smile.
Because in some way, however small and short-lived, we had a moment no one can take away.
Chapter 10
Blake
This isnotmy dorm.
The pillowcase is too soft, not to mention it smells heavenly like Alexis’s signature pomegranate shampoo. There is no stomping of inconsiderate feet on the stairs, but a sweet voice humming some Taylor Swift song, the sound nearly luring me back to sleep.
Instead, I force my eyes to open.
I’m in Alexis’s living room, sprawled out like a starfish on that horrendous pink couch. A broad beam of sunlight drifts through a crack in the curtains to fall onto the cracked kitchen floor, illuminating her hair like it was spun gold.
Her pajamas are old and saggy, the shirt barely grazing her hip bones, the pink-spotted pants sagging down to reveal the slightest hint of her underwear. I force myself to look away before this has a chance to turn things more awkward. I told her I would never force anything on her, and that she could trust me. If I’m lying here with a massive hard-on while staring straight at her, it would go against everything I’ve been trying to do.
I’m not afraid to admit that Alexis Moore is mind bogglingly attractive to me, nor am I afraid to tell her that. But there isa time and a place for everything, and when it comes to the physical stuff, she sets the pace. So I turn, making a show of stretching and yawning so I don’t startle her when she turns around and finds me awake.
She glances over her shoulder with a smile that wakes me in an instant. “On a scale of one through ten, how do you feel?”
“Gotta be at least a seven, now that I see you.” I shoot her a wink, andgoddoes it feel good. Sure, my head is killing me and there’s a fifty-fifty chance I’ll throw up, but Alexis being the first thing I see when I wake adds at least six points. Maybe seven, if she smiles at me again.
“You’re so weird,” she says, and though her back is turned towards me I can hear the smile in her voice. “Do you remember anything from last night?”
A crease forms between my eyebrows as I sit up, my hand flying to my forehead as if it could take away the sharp pain. I have no proof, but I swear I hear her laugh at me.
I hope she does it again.
Last night was a haze of cheap beer and spinning rooms. I remember getting a little carried away in beer pong, a few puck bunnies fighting for my attention, and Alexis kissing my forehead after I spun her around.
But I also remember an angel sitting with me while I puked my guts out, showing me real, no-strings-attached affection for what may very well be the first time in my life. Between her calming touch and terrible yet endearing singing voice, last night still goes down as one of the best I’ve had in years.
Which is why I’m sure I did something stupid.
“Bits and pieces,” I wipe a hand across my face. Only now do I notice the glass of water and ibuprofen sitting on the coffee table.An angel.
“Hmm,” Alexis leans against the kitchen counter, her slender fingers curled around a mug. “What about the part where you said you wanted to eat me out?”
I almost choke on my water. “I did what?”
“Oh, yes. Then I said you were full of it, and you were like—” She drops her voice to mimic mine, bringing a smile to my face despite the horror. “—trust me, Sunshine, I think about you plenty. And then you tried to kiss me a bunch.”
Fuck. I did do that. In a spur of alcohol-induced stupidity, I shed all common sense and came on to her. The strange thing is that neither then nor now does she seem to mind. If she did, she wouldn’t be joking about it, right? My heart skips a beat at the thought. Maybe I have a shot with her after all.
I rise, approaching in long, slow strides, my heart pounding louder than my head until there’s only a single step between us. “Maybe if you show me where I kissed you, it’ll jog my memory?”
Alexis smiles, and by god does the sight of it tug at my heart. I watch breathless as she draws in closer, her hand reaching out to touch my chest, that golden hair tickling my nose. Pomegranate shampoo curls around my nostrils and I close my eyes as her breath tickles my ear, the laugh rolling from her lips filling me with air. “I told you you were full of shit.”
My hand moves to the small of her back, inching her against me. “No, I’m not. The things I want to do to you…”
