When did you come over?” she demanded.
“When do you think? I rolled up to your house and saw a strange car in your driveway. I knew you parents were gone and it couldn’t have been Emily’s. It didn’t take me long to figure out it was Ethan’s prissy ride.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how much of a creeper I sounded like. Guess the kids from Bethel Falls High School did have something right about me. I was definitely a class five weirdo.
Rocky looked as if she were caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. Her eyebrows were pushed together and her nose was scrunched up in regret. “Uh, yeah he wanted to cook for me.”
“Cook for you, huh?” Yeah, right.
She nodded but didn’t say a word.
I could have rolled my eyes, but I didn’t. As a twenty-three-year-old male, I’ve ridden my share of rodeos before, and I knew perfectly well there was no cooking usually involved.
“You know what ‘cooking for you’ is code for, right?” I took a few breaths to calm myself, worried that my jealousy would be overtly obvious. My jaw tightened and my teeth clenched, picturing that douche getting grabby with Rocky. I shook my head, waiting for her to respond, and when she didn’t, I pressed on. “I stayed in my car, wondering if I should go in and bother you. Hell, I sure wanted to.”
“Why?”
“You know why,” I muttered. She should know why, but that didn’t mean she did. At least I wanted her to know why.
“Do I?”
She really wanted to play this game, didn’t she? Fine. I’ll bite.
“I saw Ethan walk out with extremely, extremely messy hair. His little poof was no longer a poof.” Though my brain was telling me—screaming—for me to stop, it was as if my hand had a mind of its own. Desperate to feel Rocky’s warmth once and for all, I reached out and did just as I imagined, dragging a finger against her olive-toned cheek.
Her mouth opened and closed as if she had something to say, but no words came out. Her lips remained parted, breathing in loudly. I silently prayed to hear her moan again.
I wonder if Ethan heard her moan.
My mouth hardened as I imagined the prick walking out of her house, eyeing me with that self-righteous look on his face. I smacked my tongue in disgust. “I was angry, but why? I had no right to be angry. We weren’t even good friends anymore.”
Like a bad train wreck I couldn’t stop myself from imagining the prick caressing Rocky’s body. I felt my insides turn in anger, my blood boiling dangerously. Though I may not have deserved the princess sitting in front of me, I knew Ethan didn’t either.
What the hell was I doing? How was this helping me? I needed to erase the visual from my mind. I also needed to erase the memory from hers.
Propelled by lust and love, I banished every second thought I had and let my carnal instincts take over. Bringing my face dangerously close to hers, I continued to touch her cheeks, moving my fingers down to the dip of her collarbones. I was desperate to replace Ethan in every single fantasy—that meant replacing him in her memories. “Did he touch you like this? Did he lean into you like this?” I invaded her personal space, finally inhaling her sweet scent. “And whisper sweet nothings in your ear?”
I continued my trek of her body, going unbearably slow though all I wanted to do was grab her by the hips and her throw her down onto my bed. I wanted to take her hard and fast, but I knew she didn’t deserve that. She deserved my undivided attention. I needed to make love to her and not fuck her brains out…though I admit my dick grew harder at the thought of the latter.
“Did he touch you like this? Gentle, the way you deserve to be treated?” My fingertips tingled in anticipation, feeling an electric pulse travel from her skin to mine.
“I’m not glass.”
No, she was far from fragile, but she did deserve care. Ah, sweet, naïve Rocky. Couldn’t she see how much she was worth?
When somebody hurts you, you tend to forget.
I felt myself wilt for a moment and thought better of it.
I’ll make it up to her.
“No,” I whispered. “Just someone special.”
Rocky pulled her arm back from my grasp. With fiery eyes she gazed at me and shook her head profusely. “Why are you doing this? Why are you asking these questions? This isn’t right.”
“What do you mean?” I practically whined.
“I can’t keep up with your moods, Jesse. First you’re cold, then you’re aloof, and now you’re—”
“Hot?” I teased.
“Please make up your mind about me,” she said point blank.
I gazed at her with an incredulous expression on my face. How could she not know that I loved her? I practically just laid everything out on the table for her. Fuck, I was in the middle of foreplay!
“I already told you how I felt,” I replied, flabbergasted.
“When?”
“At my restaurant? The photo?” I replied, trying to keep my voice from betraying my shock.
“That didn’t mean anything to me.”
Ouch. That was a stab in the heart. Good thing I’d always known how to tell when Rocky was lying. I bit back a smirk as I watched her fingers drum anxiously against the couch.
Two could play at this game.
“I heard you talking in your sleep. I’d like to say that it did mean something to you. You said my name and how much you cared about me—”
“I always thought that when this happened you wouldn’t be talking about another guy first!” She shouted, startling me.
“When what happened?” Once again my carnal response was electrifying.
Instead of answering, she just stared at me with a blank expression. The corners of my mouth lifted into a flirtatious grin, knowing perfectly well that I caught her right where I needed her. I was bursting at the seams, but I knew to take my time. “You don’t want to talk about another guy, huh? Fine, let’s talk about me then, because I know exactly what I would do to you.” Once again my finger worked up and down her arm. “I’d take my time to explore each curve, each crevice of your body. I know you’re not fragile by any means, but I’d treat you like any treasure should be handled.”
“H-how’s that?” she squeaked.
There was no denying the smile on my face. “With awe and all the care in the world.”
I shut my eyes and sighed, reveling in the feeling of her soft skin on my fingertips. After years of only imagining what it would be like—feel like—to cross the uncrossable border of the friend zone, nothing could have prepared me for this. After years of swearing I’d end up alone thinking that I deserved to be alone. After all that time pushing away the one…I was officially done.
I inhaled her sweet scent, further catapulting me into a dizzying abyss. “I’d map out your body, taking in your favorite spots and bookmarking them for future reference.”
“Bookmarking,” she snickered.
“Okay, bad choice of words.” She may have been laughing now, but in just a few moments I’d make sure her giggles were replaced by sighs. I leaned forward, allowing our noses to graze each other and bit back a growl that was working inside my throat, forcing out a raspy question. “Then you know how I’d kiss you?”
“No,” she whispered.
“Like this.”
Without another moment’s hesitation I licked my lips and quickly pressed them against her supple pair. I grabbed onto the back of her neck with one hand and allowed the other to continue its exploration of her body. Prying my mouth open, I took her plump bottom lip between my own and plunged my tongue into her warmth, gently showing her how much she meant to me.
That is until Rocky took matters into her own hands. Grabbing around my neck, Rocky dove into my body, pressing her breasts against my chest, causing me to crash onto the couch. Our kisses became more intense, hurried, as if finally getting a taste of water after years in the hot desert. If anything, that’s what we were, weren’t we? Two survivors finally on the verge of their oasis.