He drinks it in one go before placing it on the counter.
“How was it?” I ask, sounding as tender as I feel.
He cups his neck, eyes downcast. “My best friend can be a stubborn idiot, and I am afraid he’ll do something stupid.”
His brows draw together, and he squeezes his eyes shut. “That’s why I preferred them not to get involved in the first place…”
I offer a small smile. “Ian, it’s their relationship and you can’t protect someone from heartbreak. It’s not up to you.”
Kat comes from the office, and she halts when she sees him, the papers in her hand discarded.
“Hi, Ian,” she says in a gentle tone.
“Hi, Kat.” As if wanting the attention off him, he asks, “How goes the wedding planning?”
She sighs. “Stressful.”
I pluck the papers from her hand and go through them, signing where needed.
“I’m meeting with Theo for lunch,” she says before leaving.
“I need to get going too. Practice will be over around six. Are we meeting later at my place or yours?” he asks, the expectancy ringing crystal clear, prompting my reply.
“Yours.”
There’s more of him there.
Ian plucks something from his jeans pocket, grinning. He dangles the keychain in front of me, eyes brimming with emotions. “I’ve never had this… thank you for believing in me even when I don’t.”
I lift on my toes and cup his cheek, infusing unwavering determination as I say, “Always.”
Leaning into my touch, he kisses my cheek, lingering there for a moment longer that edges on sweet torture.
He’s about to leave when I say, “And I haven’t had this either.”
The smile he flashes as he looks at me over his shoulder melts my insides into a puddle.
Finishing work, I close the shop and head home.
After I take a shower, I notice his jersey lies discarded on my chair. I wear that over my top and shorts and visit him.
Opening the door, his eyes sweep over me. His gaze blasts heat that makes me hot all over. No relief in sight for me. Ugh, so I guess I must learn to navigate an intense sexual frustration that might causeinsanity.
He drags his bottom lip through his teeth and that is so sexual it’s a wonder I don’t combust.
“I like you in my jersey. You look…” He clears his throat.
“Like what?” I ask breathlessly.
Opening and closing his mouth, he leaves me desperate to hear what he thought about, but his next words douse icy water over my excitement.
“Too good for being just my friend.”
Tonight, he doesn’t have to ask if I’ll stay over. I just do, and as the hours darken the sky in shades of midnight blue, we lie on the couch, face to face, his finger grazing my arm.
His cheek rests on his palm while we share a big, soft pillow.
“What’s your biggest fear?” I ask, delving deeper into my quest to know him better than anyone else.
