“Delilah, I’ll never make you do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”
“I know, and I’m not uncomfortable. It’s been a long time since I have been with anyone, and Brad—it was never—he was pretty vanilla. He wasn’t vocal like you.”
“What do you mean?” I push away the anger that comes along with hearing his name. Even if it fucking kills me to hear about her with another man, I want to give her everything she needs. Anything she tells me I’ll use to make sure it’s so mind-blowing with me that she never thinks about anyone else.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?” She sighs, her lips pulling down into a frown.
“I do. I know you better than anyone else in many ways, but you never shared this part of yourself with me. Giving into our chemistry is new, and I want—no, I need to know where your boundaries lie, what you want, what you don’t like.”
“That’s the thing. I’m not sure I have any boundaries—not with you. I trust you more than anyone else. With you, I crave it all.” She blows out a breath, like she’s gearing up to say something that makes her nervous. “But to answer your question, yes, I’ll tell you about the dream.” The words leave her mouth in a rush and hang in the air like a bomb. If she were here instead of across the country, there is no way I could hold myself back after that.
I look at her for a minute before I speak, taking time to figure out how to respond. Her cheeks are rosy, and she has that damn lip trapped between her teeth. I wish I were there to do something about it. Before I can second guess myself, I tell her exactly what it makes me want to do to her.
“Delilah, whenever you trap that pretty pink lip between your teeth, it drives me crazy. It makes me want to kiss the two little dents your front teeth leave there—sooth them with my tongue before I nip at it.”
She whimpers as it springs free from her teeth. “No one’s ever bit my lip before.”
“No? I’m going to be the first?” She nods, and I really fucking like the sound of being her first anything. “I bet we can find some other things I can be first at. Does that sound like fun?”
“I’m not sure if I will ever get used to hearing you talk to me like that. You’re still my best friend, but suddenly I get this whole other side of you.” She pauses like she’s not sure how much she wants to say, and it makes my skin prickle with anxiety. My girl is careful with her words. She’s empathic, almost to a fault. Over the years since we met, she’s gotten better at putting herself first. For a moment, I’m afraid she’s trying to figure out how to tell me that this is all too much and let me down easily. “I like it. No one has ever turned me on with just words like you do.”
Her praise goes straight to my head—both of them. All the blood rushes to my cock, which is only a problem because when I slipped off my jeans, I didn’t put underwear on with my Basketball shorts. With how I am laying on the bed holding the phone, my cock is barely contained in the waistband of my shorts, and I know the moment Delilah notices.
She licks her lips as her eyes flick from my face to the bottom of the screen, where my crotch is barely in the frame.
“Your words affect me just as much.” The color that is staining her cheeks crawls down her neck and chest. “Look at you blush for me. I can’t wait to see you turn that pretty shade of pink for me in person. I’m going to make it my life’s mission to discover all the things that make you flush like that. I bet you do it when you come, don’t you?”
“Jesus, Cruz. I praise you for your dirty mouth, and you crank it all the way up. I thought you were going to take it slow.”
“This is me taking it slow, Hermosa. I have been holding back for years. Does that scare you?”
“No. I’m not scared of how much you want me or how I feel the same. The only thing about being with you that scares me is the thought of losing our friendship if things don’t go as planned.”
“You can trust me to keep our friendship safe.”
“I know you want that, too. But you can’t possibly promise that. Neither of us can. If this ends and I lose you, I will never get over it. The last time I had a broken heart, you put me back together and made me stronger.”
“Nah, you did that all on your own. I just stuck by your side. Besides, you did the same for me when I was at my lowest point. We both have a lot to lose here. But the thing is, we both have even more to gain. Don’t write us off before we even get started.”
“I’m not, I promise.” Her eyes flick down. “God, I know how to take the sexy out of a conversation.”
“Don’t do that. This conversation is more important, and this thing between us isn’t going away anytime soon.” I slip my hand under the waistband of my shorts, adjusting myself in case she has any doubts about how much I still want her. “Nothing is happening between us until I get home, and I know you can handle everything happening here.”
“Oh, I can handle it, alright.”
“That’s what you say now.” I give her a wicked smile that makes her breath hitch. “Now let’s talk more about this hypothetical vacation that you’re going to let me take you on.”
Chapter 18
Swamp Beavers
Flashback - 1.5 Years Earlier
“Where the hell did the trail go?” Cruz stands in front of me scratching his head as he looks around. There’s murky water everywhere and the next trail marker is all the way on the other side of the log littered bog.
“Are you sure this is the right way?” I ask, looking warily at the map on my phone, trying to make sense of it. Maybe if I turn my phone to the side? Nope. Still doesn’t make any sense.
Everything about this trip is outside of my comfort zone. From closingBuns & Rosesfor the weekend so I could be here, to the hiking day trip that Cruz planned. Cruz has been a constant presence since I found Brad and Bridget in bed together—quickly changing from acquaintance to earning his spot as my best friend. It was his idea for me to join his family on their weekend trip to Telluride.
