She gripped her own cup tightly in her hands and took a sip. She licked the juice off her lips, and of course my eyes went straight to the motion. I couldn’t help it. I was obsessed with her lips. They were so soft and delicious looking. I was desperate to feel them again.
But since that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon, I cleared my throat, trying to hold myself together and focus my mind on something that wasn’t Cara’s body.
“We should be finished with the sidewalk stuff in a few weeks, so I can start in about two weeks and I’ll have it done before the wedding. Should we talk about that, by the way? It’s in Bali right? Can you send me the information when I get home so I can get my flight handled?”
She nodded with a bright smile. “That’s perfect. Yeah. I’m so excited. I’ve never been. I definitely plan to use that week to my full advantage when I’m not busy with wedding stuff. Thanksagain for agreeing to do this. Just send me the bill when it’s done, and I’ll take care of it.”
I rolled my eyes, not wanting to talk about money. She didn’t know it yet, but she wasn’t paying me a penny. I didn’t want her money, I just wanted to see her smile. “Of course, Cara. I’m here to help. I’ve never been to Bali either, I’ll have to see what there is to do, while you’re doing wedding stuff. Speaking of, I’m going shopping for a new tux next weekend. Do you have any recommendations of a good place to go?”
She nodded, setting her cup down. “I do, actually. There’s a place just outside of Seattle in… Fairview, funny enough.” She paused, seemingly having a debate with herself about what to say next? “I could go with you. You know, if you needed help, or just wanted some company.”
I smiled as if I had just been told I was going to Disneyland as a child. She actually wanted to spend time with me? Outside of wedding obligations? I must’ve been dreaming.
I mean, yeah, it was technically wedding related, but her friends wouldn’t be there. We didn’t have to put on an act for anyone.
Instead of questioning it, I used my brain and nodded. It might’ve been a fluke and I wasn’t going to turn her down. “I’d love some help, princesa.”
Chapter Fourteen
CARA
Vera was picking me up in a few hours because something had possessed me to offer to go tux shopping with her. Why had I done that? I told myself it was to be a good friend. That was it. Not for any other selfish reasons.
Friendship with Vera was… complicated, to put it lightly. For starters, we had slept together, and every time I looked at her, that was the first thing I thought of. We were also fake dating and lying to my friends. I knew how she felt about me, but fake dating friends was all we could be. I was getting a headache just thinking about it all.
I decided to busy myself with the only thing I knew how. I sat at my desk and engrossed myself in work until my alarm went off. I was so nervous, I’d gotten ready earlier. An hour later, my alarm went off, telling me I had thirty minutes before Vera showed up.
When the doorbell rang exactly thirty minutes later, I rolled my shoulders and found myself smiling as I fixed my dress and made sure my hair was put together. Of course she was disgustingly on time.
“Good morning, princesa.” her greeting was joined by a cup that she held out in front of me.
I looked at it with a frown and then back to her eyes. “Good morning.” I said the words slowly, like I was trying to process every one. “You got coffee?”
She smiled and I stared at the cup as if it were the most interesting thing on the planet. Looking at her smile was likelooking straight into the sun. Look for too long and you’ll go blind.
“I may have asked Eloise for your coffee order. Iced matcha with oatmilk and brown sugar syrup. Are you ready to go?”
I had the most helpful assistant. I’d have to remember to “thank” her for that. I didn’t know what to say, I just kept staring at the drink, waiting for something else to happen. What that would be, I didn’t know.
Why was one simple act paralyzing me? It wasn’t like she bought a house or something. It was just a drink. Less than eight dollars. It wasn’t a big deal. She was just being nice. Which was part of the problem.
She was always just being nice. Too nice. She made it nearly impossible not to fall into the trap of attraction. Of course, I wasn’t blind. I could see, objectively, that she was very,veryattractive.
But looks could only get you so far. Her personality, though? That was something else entirely. That was the part that was going to get me into trouble if I wasn’t careful. Lucky for me, careful was my middle name. Okay, so legally it was Brianne, but still. I wasn’t going to fall into her trap.
The drive was just a little over an hour long, and I tried to relax. Sitting that close to her for that long wasn’t easy. Her cologne was the same one she wore the night we met, and I had resulted to breathing through my mouth, hands glued to each other and legs tightly pressed together.
“There’s our hotel, should we stop to reminisce?” We had been riding in thirty minutes of uncomfortable silence when she spoke, causing me to jump.
I looked to see her pointing to the hotel we met at. Memories of that night flooding my mind, making me lightheaded. Or it could’ve been her cologne.
I didn’t reply. I just stared out the window at the hotel. What was I going to say? That I thought about that night just about every day? That when I pleasured myself, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and see that night play out. Hearing her voice praising me? That smelling that cologne turned me on? That her smile was the first thing I saw, and now I can’t see it without remembering her mouth on me? That the more I thought about it in that truck, the more that the idea to actually stop wasn’t sounding so terrible?
“Pancakes and orange juice.”
I turned to look at her, confused as my thoughts from that night were swirling in my head. “What?”
“That’s what I was getting you for breakfast the next morning. Blueberry pancakes, fruit, and orange juice. I went to the diner across the street to get it. The hotel breakfast wasn’t that great, and I figured you’d be hungry. I guess I was right, but you just wanted the food from your own house.” She shrugged and I shrunk into myself.
