Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 93578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 374(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
I smiled. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Our lips were not that far apart, and I was not chewing gum this time. If I leaned toward him a little, would he—
Lightning flashed above the trees behind him, the sound cracking like a rifle shot a second later. “Oh!”
He put a hand on my leg as the rumble of thunder followed. “You okay?”
“Yes. Sorry.” A little sheepish, I lifted my shoulders. “Storms still make me jumpy.”
“Let’s go in.” Hutton stood up, grabbing our empty wine glasses from the table. “I’ll show you the guest rooms, and you can take your pick.”
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay?” I followed him into the house.
“Yes. I could call and ask my mom, but I’m pretty sure she’d be in favor of it,” he joked, sliding the glass door closed with his elbow.
“Mine too. Actually, I am going to text her and let her know I’m staying here, just so she doesn’t worry.”
“Good idea.”
The first bedroom Hutton showed me was on the main floor, its door right across the hall from the master suite. It had a queen-sized bed made up with pretty white eyelet bedding and its own bathroom. “This is perfect,” I said, sinking down on the bed.
Hutton lingered in the doorway. “The other two bedrooms are on the lower level, if you’d like more privacy.”
“Listen, I’ve been living with my parents and two teenage sisters for six months. This is heaven.”
He laughed. “Okay. Can I get you anything?”
“Got a spare toothbrush? Maybe an old T-shirt I could sleep in?”
“Be right back.”
While he was gone, I texted my mom that I was staying at Hutton’s and would be home in the morning. I noticed that I had notifications from Dearly Beloved and Instagram, but I ignored them and turned my phone off—I’d deal with the outside world tomorrow.
I’d just set my phone on the nightstand when Hutton appeared holding a folded white shirt, a toothbrush still in the package, and a travel tube of toothpaste on top. “Will this work?”
“Yes. Thank you.” I stood up and took everything from him, and our hands touched in the process. A jolt of heat shot up my arms.
He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Need anything else?”
“Nope. I’m good.” Thunder boomed loudly from outside, and I jumped.
“You okay?”
“No.” I laughed, embarrassed. Without thinking, I made a quick joke. “Can I sleep in your bed tonight?”
Hutton’s face went white.
“I’m kidding,” I said, my face growing hot. “Because of what I told you earlier. Don’t worry, I won’t—”
“You can if you want to.”
“—actually crawl into your . . . huh?”
“You can sleep in my bed. If you want to. I mean, if you’re scared.”
What if I’m not scared and I just want to be close to you?
But I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.
Instead, I just smiled. “Thanks. But I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. Goodnight.” He left the room quickly, pulling the door shut behind him.
I stood there for a moment staring at it. What just happened? Did I just reject an invitation? Did he want me to crawl into his bed tonight? Or was he just being nice?
Why were we so bad at this?
I kept obsessing over it as I took out my space buns, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and traded my dress and push-up bra for his T-shirt. The clean white cotton felt cool and soft against my skin. Staring at myself in the bathroom mirror, I wondered what to do. There had been moments tonight when we’d edged close to crossing the line. I knew I hadn’t imagined it.
But he’d also said things that led me to believe he didn’t want to risk our friendship just to mess around—and I didn’t either. What we had was rare.
What I wanted was reckless.
Turning off all the lights, I slipped between the sheets and stared into the dark. Rain drummed on the roof, punctuated by the occasional flash of lightning and growl of thunder.
Would one night of engaging in some questionable behavior ruin years of friendship? Maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe we could just get a little naked and see what happened. Let our lips meet. Let our hands wander. Let go of our inhibitions in the dark.
Thunder boomed, so powerful it shook the house.
“This is crazy,” I whispered to myself, but I threw the covers back, swung my feet to the floor, hurried over to the door and threw it open.
Then I gasped.
Hutton stood there in the dark—shirtless—his hand raised as if he’d been about to knock.
SIX
HUTTON
“Oh!” Felicity’s hands flew to her cheeks. “I was just . . . um . . .”
My mind hopefully stepped in where her tongue left off.
Wondering if you want to get naked?
Curious about what your body would feel like on mine?
Thinking about fucking you in ten different ways?
Great, me too.