to the bone with every goosebump I leave in my wake.
“So… it was out of obligation?” I prod. Come on, Pete. Give me just a little more.
He stares at the ceiling for exactly seven seconds before answering. “Everyone needs a kiss on New Year’s.”
Disappointment floods through me, but it doesn’t squelch my hope entirely. Maybe what we’ve shared so far tonight is enough intimacy for him, and I’m not one to throw stones at someone’s fears.
Or maybe he’s letting me down easy. I already know I don’t have sex appeal.
Either way, I’m grateful for the small amount of happy I got tonight from him, and I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else to get it.
I scoot against the pillow wall, finding him pressed against the other side. My hand paints a path down his arm, resting against his palm. I intertwine my fingers with his and bend my elbow, bringing his knuckles to my lips.
“Thank you,” I say against his skin. I hope it’s enough to convey just how grateful I am to him, and not just tonight.
“Any time,” he croaks, trying for the joke, but his voice gives him away. I drop our hands, but he tightens his grasp, refusing to let me go. Our clasped hands sit atop our pillow wall, and I let my eyes grow heavy, despite the buzz running under my skin. His thumb rubbing comforting circles on the inside of my wrist lulls me to a deep sleep.
Pete
I slept more last night than I have all week, despite dozing off around four in the morning.
Luckily my shift didn’t start until five. Troublemakers didn’t open until then, so I’m more awake, but not as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I should be.
Sleeping next to Candace felt much better than it should have. Holding her hand felt like a late Christmas gift, and I hate that I feel so empty without it. I can’t count how many times I wanted to roll over and plant another kiss to her lips. After she pressed a kiss to my hand, I was wide awake for another half an hour at least. My mouth was so damn jealous of my knuckles.
Her breathing evened out and deepened long before mine did. I listened to her sleep and berated my dumbass for holding back all the thoughts running through my head. Somehow, at some point in the last month, I fell for her. I didn’t even know it until she asked me why I kissed her, and the answer was there on the tip of my tongue and I bit it away.
“You could have told me,” Tanner says from his spot at the Wheel Zone, jolting me out of my self-loathing. We’re supervising the half-pipes together tonight, and Mad’s the only one here. The shiny new decals I got her cover her decrepit board, reflecting the overhead lights.
“Told you what?” I grumble.
“That you’re into Candace.” He jams his hands into his back pockets, his eyes on my sister as she does a drop-in.
“I didn’t know I was.” It’s honest, but he throws me a look like I’m full of it.
“You knew I was, though.” His eyes swivel to my sister again, and she does an invert, landing up on the edge of the half pipe.
“Sorry.” It’s a pathetic excuse for an apology. We aren’t best buds by any definition, but I did know about his feelings for her. “It blindsided me too, man.”
He nods, his lips pursed. Tanner isn’t normally so stoic, and I wonder just how much I pissed him off. I let out a sigh and just about tell him nothing’s gonna happen between Candace and me. But I can’t seem to form the words. I don’t want to hear them.
Maddie presses her foot to her board and soars down a ramp that leads directly to us. I back up, giving her room to dismount. She plucks off her helmet and holds her hand out for her water bottle.
“Does Troublemakers rent for private parties?” she says through her heavy breath. Sweat matts her hair to her forehead, and she tips her head back for a long slug of water. “I’m really liking the idea of the course all to myself.”
“Soon you’ll be practicing in a legit boarding park,” Tanner says. “That sponsorship is around the corner, Brink.”
They fist bump, and when Mad’s eyes drift to me, her smile starts to fade. “What’s with you, glum bum?”
Okay, yeah… I’m grumpy as hell, and my poker face isn’t all that