Finally (Neighbor from Hell #12) - R.L. Mathewson Page 0,50

feet before Devin was taking her hand in his and leading her to the dance floor.

“Devin, I-”

“Dance with me,” he said as he pulled her into his arms.

“I don’t want to dance with you,” Charlie said, moving to step away only to reluctantly stop and let him pull her into his arms when he said, “Please.”

“I’m sorry,” Devin said as she wrapped her arms around him.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Charlie said as she found herself pulled closer.

“And I don’t want to hurt you,” he said softly as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“Too late,” she mumbled as she closed her eyes and-

God, she couldn’t do this.

If he hadn’t said anything, she could have kept pretending that everything was fine. She could have told herself that she didn’t have time for anything more, focused on getting her life together, and pretended that she didn’t want him, that she didn’t find herself thinking about him, and that-

“Ten!” came the loud cheer that had her realizing that they’d stopped moving as she opened her eyes to find Devin watching her.

“Nine!”

“Eight!”

“I love you, Charlie,” he whispered softly.

“Seven!”

“Then don’t do this,” she said as he cupped her face in his hands.

“Six!”

“God, you’re beautiful,” came the hoarsely whispered words as he moved closer.

“Five!”

“Devin,” she said, putting everything she had into that one word as she watched his expression soften.

“Four!”

“Three!” came the loud cheer as his gaze dropped to her lips.

“Two!”

He moved closer and-

“One!”

“Happy New Year, brat,” came the unexpected words as she found herself pulled away from Devin and into her best friend’s arms. As she wrapped her arms around Ben, she watched as Devin’s expression turned to regret as he turned around and walked away.

She was still thinking about that look on his face sometime later when she walked into her apartment. She should have taken Ben up on his offer, Charlie thought, only to smile when she spotted the reason that she wanted to come home sitting on her bed, reading a book.

“Did you miss me?” Dustin asked with a shy smile that was just too damn adorable for words.

“I really did,” she promised him as she pulled off her coat and dropped it on the chair by the door.

“We should have a sleepover,” he said with a firm nod, already climbing off her bed to go get his stuff.

“We really should. Why don’t you go grab a stuffed animal and a book and I’ll make us a special snack?” Charlie said as she headed towards the patio doors, needing a minute to clear her head.

“Okay!” Dustin said, making her smile as he rushed to go do that.

Thankful for the small reprieve, Charlie stepped outside and slowly exhaled as the crisp winter air enveloped her as she closed the door behind her. She walked over to the railing and wondered how she was supposed to handle this. As much as she wanted to leave right now and start over somewhere else, she wasn’t ready yet. She also couldn’t do that to Abbi and Dustin. She loved them and there was no way in hell that she would ever be able to walk out on them.

“I should have kissed you,” came the softly spoken words letting her know that she wasn’t alone, drawing her attention to her right to find Devin sitting on the other deck, staring out into the backyard.

For a moment, Charlie simply stood there watching him until she’d decided that she’d had enough for one night. She paused by the patio door and said, “Yes, you should have,” before she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

Closing her eyes, she stood there for a moment, slowly exhaling and-

“Oh, god, what now?” she muttered pathetically when a knock came from her front door.

Really hoping that wasn’t Ben checking up on her to make sure that she was okay, Charlie walked over to her front door, opened it, and found herself pulled into Devin’s arms as his mouth closed over hers. She felt her eyes close as he moved his lips against hers, brushing them in teasing strokes, coaxing her to kiss him back as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer so that every inch of her body was pressed against his and she had no idea where he started and she ended.

He cupped her face in his hands as he took his time kissing her, brushing his lips against hers, teasing her lips to move against his as he slowly deepened the kiss. As his