Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147021 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 735(@200wpm)___ 588(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
“Is my arm okay there?” I ask.
“It’s fine.”
Postie and Malone join us, but Malone decides to pull his air-hump move on the arm stretched across the back of the couch.
“No, dude. Why can’t you just be normal?” He bites me when I try to move.
“Must be something in the air tonight,” Aurora murmurs. She hops up, moving the blanket to his chair and pats it. “Come on, Malone. Your sexy girlfriend is right here, waiting for your love.”
“He’s such a weirdo.”
“At least he’s not humping his brother,” Aurora says with a smirk.
Malone takes the bait, and Postie climbs onto the arm of the chair, unfazed by Malone’s antics.
Aurora returns to her spot beside me. Every time one of us moves or passes the snacks, we gravitate closer. My fingers brush her shoulder. Hers graze my thigh when she reaches across me for the remote to adjust the volume. Every accidental brush makes me want more.
A better man would put some space between us. Someone less selfish would end this and tell her to go home. But I am not that man. Instead, when she tucks her hair behind her ear and our fingers brush again, I link mine with hers and pull her closer. Her skin is warm against mine, and I feel every shaky inhale as she settles against me. I don’t want to leave this moment where she’s suddenly mine. I could do this with her every night—cuddle on the couch, watch movies, talk. I could be the person she comes home to. The one she sleeps beside.
I turn my head and breathe in her honey, banana, and coconut shampoo.
“Are you sniffing me?” Aurora whispers.
“Shh... Just watch the movie.”
I catch her smile out of the corner of my eye as she snuggles deeper into my side. She fits so perfectly against me. I’m crossing all kinds of lines, but having her close like this makes me want to forget everything else.
Yet another sex scene flashes across the screen. They’re frantic hands and mouths, tearing at clothes, pushing, pulling, heavy breaths and desperate kisses.
Aurora slides a hand between her thighs. “Did you remember there being this much sex?”
I clear my throat. “I haven’t seen it in a long time.”
“Me neither. Probably not since high school.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to make a joke, but she pokes me in the ribs.
“No snide comments about how that probably feels like yesterday. I’ve been a high school graduate for almost half a decade.”
“I’ve been a high school graduate for more than a decade and a half.”
She makes an annoyed sound and starts to move away, but I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her against me. The movement catches her off guard, and her hand lands on my thigh. I drop my lips to her ear, relishing the closeness. “I’m not trying to be a dick, Aurora. I’m just stating facts.”
I loosen my hold, but her fingers wrap around my forearm. I’ve lost the will to fight it.
Her fingers glide along my forearm, and I break out in a wave of goose bumps as they drift over the back of my hand. “Is this okay? Are we okay?” she whispers.
“We’re okay.” I curl my fingers around hers.
The movie ends, and the streaming service previews the second in the series.
Her lips brush my wrist. “The movie’s over.”
I stroke the edge of her jaw. “You can stay for another one, if you want.”
She exhales a shaky breath. “I don’t want to push so much that you do something you regret and tell me it’s a mistake again.”
“I shouldn’t have said that.” I drop my head. “I’m responsible for my own actions.”
“What does that mean?” She tips her head, offering me access to her skin.
And I take it. I feel her pulse hammering against my lips. She smells so good, feels even better tucked against me like this. So I give her the truth, even if it’s damning. “It means I could have made a thousand different decisions, but I chose to kiss you.”
“Because I pushed you.” Her breaths come faster, unsteady.
“Because I let you.” I had every opportunity to walk away, but I didn’t. I kept telling her no, but everything I’ve done contradicts my words. The electric draw is impossible to deny.
I sweep the contour of her bottom lip with my thumb, and her tongue peeks out.
The next movie has started, but neither of us pays attention to it.
Part of me realizes if I don’t stop this, I could be exploding nearly a decade of friendship. But my career is circling the drain, my body is a fucking mess, and Aurora is the only thing that makes sense. And she’s right here—so warm, and alive, and beautiful. I want this one good thing. Fuck what’s right. Fuck blowing up my life.