"Let's sit down." She takes my hand and we sit on the couch, facing each other. "I know what you're going to say."
"You do?"
"You don't want a girlfriend. You have sex with girls, but nothing else."
It sounds really bad when she says it like that.
"You don't have to tell me," she continues. "I already know. But I still want to spend time with you. I like coming over here, being with you and Jake, but especially you." She smiles, then looks down at our joined hands. "I'm not ready to be in another relationship. I haven't even gotten out of my old one yet. So I'm not going to pressure you to be anything more than a friend." Her eyes lift to mine. "And maybe we can sometimes take it beyond a friendship, if that's okay with you."
"It doesn't work that way," I say, thinking back to the many girls I've fooled around with who wanted more. "Once we go down that path, you'll want this to be more than what it is."
"We're already down that path and I'm okay leaving things how they are. I know you don't believe me, and a few months ago you would've been right. I would've wanted more. But seeing my dad betray my mom after all those years of marriage, and Chad forget about me after just a couple weeks of being gone, I can't do it. I can't rush into another relationship. It isn't what I want right now. I need to get past all the hurt and the pain before I can trust a guy again."
It makes sense, but can she really do it? Can she keep this a friendship if we get more involved?
"Can we at least try it?" she asks.
"Try what? What exactly are you thinking this would be?"
"We keep spending time together. Maybe I could come over more during the week. And maybe we do could more than just kiss." She pauses, waiting for me to agree to it. When I don't, she continues. "Or we don't have to...if you don't want to."
Is she kidding? Of course I want to, but sex can lead to feelings getting involved—feelings that lead to wanting a relationship. I'm not just talking about her, but me. I've never had a problem keeping sex casual but I'm not sure I can do that with Brook. I already feel more for her than I have any other girl.
"Believe me, I want to," I say. "But I don't think it's a good idea."
She nods. "You're probably right."
"We could still do other stuff," I say, putting my hand on her thigh, extending my fingers close to where they were last night.
She sucks in a breath and closes her eyes. "I like that idea. The other stuff?"
I chuckle, and lean over to kiss her, just once, before backing away.
"It's working!" Jacob yells from the bedroom.
"Okay!" I yell back.
"I'm going to close the door now, and stay in my room!"
I look at Brook, who's laughing.
"Sounds good!" I yell back. "See you in the morning."
The bedroom door closes and I hear the lock click shut.
"Think he could be any more obvious?" I say to Brook.
"It's sweet. He's giving you privacy."
"I won't be giving him the same. If he has a girl over here, they'll be sitting on opposite ends of this couch with me in the middle."
"Dean, you can't stop him from dating, or making out with a girl. If he doesn't do it here, he'll do it somewhere else."
My brows draw together. "What are you saying? Is he doing that? Did he tell you he has a girlfriend?"
"No, I'm just saying if he everdoesget a girl, he'll find a way to be with her, and it's better if they kiss here than out on the streets."
"I don't want to think about Jake being with girls. New topic."
