under her head, I used her ass to jostle her closer.
She didn’t fight me. Instead, she rested her cheek on my chest, draped an arm across my stomach, and relaxed into my side. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “A little weirded out. A little nervous about what happens next. But all in all, I’m surprisingly calm.”
Kissing the top of her head, I mumbled into her hair, “Good. Let’s try to keep it that way through our date tonight.”
Her body tensed. “Our date?”
“Yep.”
She tipped her head back, and I put my chin to my chest to catch her green gaze. “Are we dating now?”
“Well, no, not yet. But tonight we will be.”
“Yeah, okay, now I’m freaking out.”
Dipping low, I took her mouth in a gentle and all-too-brief kiss, unfortunately aware that I needed a toothbrush and shower stat. “Stop it. We’ve hung out at least twice a week for over fifteen years. I’m sure we can manage once more without the Earth falling out of orbit.” I kissed her nose. Then her forehead. Then moved back to her lips one last time before rolling out from under her.
She flipped to her stomach and watched me as I collected my clothes off the floor. “So…like a date as friends?” Her voice was painfully hopeful.
Had I not known her as well as I did, it would have been insulting.
I tugged my pants on and got busy on the button-down, opting to let her keep my undershirt. “Lex, babe, please hear me when I say this. I will always be your friend, but after the last few days, there is nothing even remotely friendly about the things I want to do to you.” Fully dressed, I walked over and curled a hand around the back of her neck.
Her breath caught as she peered up at me.
That was the moment I should have said something reassuring to her. I should have been Hud, her best friend, the man who would move Heaven and Earth to fix even her smallest problems.
But she had to know that, as far as I was concerned, this date wasn’t a trial to see if we liked each other. I’d loved her for over half my life. It was never quite like this before, but we’d get there. It was going to set her on edge. And she’d spend all day cleaning her house and making up excuses of why she couldn’t come, but in this case, that was far better than her sitting around, convincing herself that we were just friends and the past three days had been a total fluke.
And for those reasons, I shot her a wolfish grin and said, “I’ll text you the details in a little while. I’m nothing if not a gentleman, Lex, but pack an overnight bag, because fair warning, I fuck on the first date.”
Her eyes flashed wide and her sexy mouth fell open, but I simply planted a kiss on the top of her head and then left.
I’d catch hell for it throughout the day, but as I climbed into my truck and caught her peeking through the blinds, I had the most overwhelming feeling that someone had finally set the wheels of my life in motion.
I just had to make sure hers were moving too.
I made it all the way to lunch before Lex made her first attempt to back out on our date. Truthfully, I’d been really looking forward to her excuses all day. She was nothing if not creative.
Lex: Hello, this is Nurse Mary Jenkins. I regret to inform you that Alexis Lawson has lapsed into a coma and will be unable to attend your date this evening.
Me: Wow, Nurse Jenkins. That is unfortunate. If I may ask, how was she able to relay this message to you if she’s in a coma?
Lex: She blinked in Morse Code.
Me: Oh so this coma only affects her ability to talk? Gotcha. In that case, please tell her to be ready for our date at six. She doesn’t need to be able to talk for anything that I plan to do to her tonight.
Surprisingly, sex was the one time when she didn’t have something to say.
Lex: I hate you.
Me: Lex, is that you? It’s a miracle! But now that you’re conscious again, go get the Chevelle. We’re cruising in style tonight.
Lex: Uh…are you after me or my car?
Me: Technically, you in the back seat of your car.
I laughed my ass off as that text bubble bounced for fifteen minutes without the first response