falling quickly. It’s like she’s no longer present in the room with me. Instead, she’s off somewhere else…floating.
I trace a circle against the inside of her knee and her eyes pop open. She glances up at me with heavy lids.
She reaches up to wrap her arms around my neck, wanting more, but I pull back and stand.
She presses up on her hands and frowns in annoyance as I pick up her panties and hook them back onto her ankles. I tug them higher as she grows more and more upset with me.
“I don’t want to stop.”
“Good. Neither do I. Not tonight or tomorrow.”
She gets my meaning and straightens her shoulders, yanking her panties up the rest of the way herself. “Tonight is what’s on the table. Take it or leave it.”
I push up and off the bed.
“I guess I’m leaving it then. I’ll see you in the morning…for round two.”
“That’s not an option,” she says, tugging down her top so it covers her chest again.
“We’ll see.”
She doesn’t like how confident I sound.
“You’re insufferable,” she says, scooting off the mattress and standing so she’s right in front of me.
I look down at her with a smug smile.
“I can’t believe we used to be friends.” Her sharp glare tries to slice through me.
“So we’re not friends anymore?” I ask, tilting my head and rubbing my thumb across my bottom lip. The gesture says, These lips were just between your legs, sweetheart.
“Absolutely not,” she huffs.
“So then that makes us…what exactly?”
Her eyes scream the answer before she leaves the room and slams my door closed behind her.
Chapter Seventeen
Maddie
The next morning, I’m slow to rise.
I barely managed a wink of sleep last night after my late-night rendezvous with Aiden. Going to his room was dumb. Staying there was dumber. Leaving when I did…not dumb. In fact, it’s the only thing saving me this morning.
The way he looked down at me as he stood there, smug and satisfied with himself…the way he brushed his lip with his thumb like a cocky asshole—I wanted to reach into his chest and twist his heart the way he’s always twisted mine.
He thinks we’re going to continue what we started?!
Don’t hold your breath, bud.
Last night was on my terms. I got him out of my system, so there.
I whip the blankets off my legs and am about to go into our shared bathroom when I think better of it. The shower is on in there. Aiden is naked on the other side of that door, lathering up his tan skin and probably getting himself off considering the state I left him in last night.
I scurry out of my room like my ass is on fire and use the hall bathroom to do my business before heading into the kitchen.
Jolie and Ford are at the table. Ford’s jamming fistfuls of bananas into his mouth, and Jolie’s working her way through a cup of coffee while she flips through a magazine.
“Morning,” I say lightly as I head to fix myself a cup as well. The pot looks extra dark and extra strong, just the way I want it.
“Hey!” Jolie says. “Sleep well?”
“Oh yeah,” I lie.
“Good. I was worried you’d be upset about Brent leaving yesterday. I feel bad we didn’t get to talk about it when you got home last night.”
I’m sorry, who?
“Oh, it’s okay.”
“I don’t get it. He just up and left you the day before Christmas Eve? What kind of boyfriend does that?”
The fake kind.
“It’s not a big deal. We weren’t even serious.”
She seems surprised by that. “But you invited him here for the holidays?”
To make Aiden jealous, Jolie. Keep up.
When I don’t offer a response, she asks, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Talk about what?” Aiden inquires.
I whip around to see him walk into the kitchen wearing jeans and a hunter green long-sleeved t-shirt. His hair is inky black and still damp from the shower.
“We were talking about Maddie’s breakup.”
Aiden laughs.
LAUGHS!
Then he turns and heads toward me and I freeze like a deer caught in headlights. He looks ready to pounce. Oh my god, he’s going to kiss me in front of my sister! He’s that confident!
He strolls right up to me and I brace myself against the counter, waiting for it. My hands grip the edge so hard I’m about to break bone.
Then he stops and peers down at me. His long lashes—the kind that are absolutely wasted on men—encase sharp green eyes.