He was already asleep.
And I closed my eyes and breathed him in as sleep took me.
fifteen
. . .
Cutler
I openedmy eyes to see Gracie sound asleep beside me. Lucky for me, I rarely got hangovers.
She stirred the slightest bit beside me. Her long hair was in a knot on top of her head, with long black lashes framing her closed eyes. Her lips looked like pink rosebuds, and the strap of her white pajama top had slipped down her arm, exposing her golden skin.
My chest squeezed as I took her in.
Goddamn, I loved this girl.
I climbed out of bed and pulled her bedroom door closed behind me. I looked up to see Melody at the end of the hallway, coming toward me with a cup of coffee.
The big smile on her face made it clear that she’d noted what room I’d just stepped out of. “Well, good morning to you, BC.”
I chuckled, keeping my voice low. “It’s not what you think.”
She handed me the coffee mug. “This was for Gracie, because I assumed you spent the night out. But obviously, you did not.”
“Get your mind out of the gutter,” I said as I followed her down the hallway toward the kitchen. “I slept with my clotheson. I came home drunk, and we were talking and I fell asleep in there. It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed many times.”
But that was all before I buried my head between her thighs a few weeks ago.
And now that was consuming my thoughts day and night. The way she’d looked while down on her knees with her lips wrapped around me. The little groans she’d made before she came on my tongue. Her dark eyes sated as she’d met my gaze, her lips parted the slightest bit, before a lazy smile settled on her face.
Fuck me.
This was my best friend, and I was currently doing everything in my power to stick to the plan. I never wanted to do anything to mess up our friendship. The ball was in her court, and she was making the rules right now, and I needed to respect that.
“You’re very lucky I’m currently fighting the worst headache, or I’d have a lot more questions for you.” She moved to sit on a barstool, and I took the one next to her.
“You can ask me anything. There are no secrets here. You’re reading into it.”
“Okay, I’ve got a marching band currently performing a full concert in my head, and I need to get on the road because I have a meeting later this afternoon in the city. But I’ll leave you with this to ponder,” she said, taking the last sip of her coffee and walking her mug to the sink. “Do you think there’s a possibility that the reason you don’t have any desire to hook up with other women is because your best friend is here in town? Could those two things be related?”
“I’m proud of you, Mel. You’re an impressive therapist. Clearly you’re always working.” I chuckled. “And of course the two could be related. I missed my best friend. So much so that I wasn’t even going out when she was living in Paris. This isn’tnew—it started months ago. And now that she’s here and staying with me, why would I want to go out when I can hang with her? It’s really not that deep.”
“Keep telling yourself that, BC.” She came around the island and kissed my cheek. “I’m going to go jump in the shower. Love you.”
“Love you,” I said as she disappeared down the hallway, leaving me with my thoughts.
I sat there sipping my coffee and thinking about my night.
Sydney had offered me a no-strings-attached night in her bed.
An offer I normally wouldn’t have been opposed to.
But I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t fucking do it.
I didn’t want to.
