“Right.” She nodded, staring blankly. “Only a few days.”
“But—as you pointed out earlier—we have to be convincing.”
“Right,” she repeated.
“Brie.” Her eyes snapped to mine, and I swore I saw desire there. Desire…and was that fear? “I think we should practice.”
“Practice what?”
“Touching. Kissing.”
She blinked up at me, and it would’ve been adorable were I not holding my breath awaiting her response. “Practice?” She wore a dazed expression.
“Yeah.” I lifted a shoulder, the mattress dipping from my weight as I sank down beside her. “So it won’t be super obvious or awkward when we kiss in front of them the first time.”
“Kiss…in front of them?” she squeaked.
I chuckled. “Are you going to repeat everything I say?”
“I don’t know. It’s not every day your best friend asks you to kiss him.”
I lifted my hands in the air. “It was just a suggestion.” I moved to stand.
“No.” She gripped my forearm. “You’re right. We should practice.”
She licked her lips, and I couldn’t help but stare at them. They were ripe and luscious, and I’d never looked forward to practicing something more in my life.
Chapter Three
BRIE
I perched on the edge of the bed, my body a bundle of nerves. “So…how do we do this?”
“Do what?” Justin asked from beside me. “You mean, kiss?”
I huffed and glanced away, my cheeks heating with Justin’s words, his gaze. I wasn’t as innocent as he made me out to be. I’d had boyfriends, sex. And if he didn’t watch his smart mouth, I was going to straddle him and show him just how wrong he was about me.
“Pocket.” His tone was gentle. “Brie,” he said more forcefully when I continued to ignore him.
He guided my chin to face him, and I tried to act as if I was completely unaffected by his touch. I’d been doing it for years. Why should this time be any different?
But inside, I was flipping out. Were we really going to kiss? And not when we had the excuse of being drunk on New Year’s Eve. How could he act like this was no big deal when it was a huge freaking deal?
Justin cupped my cheeks, his eyes intent on mine. “You’re beautiful, you know that?”
I shook my head, not sure whether he was trying to put me at ease or what. Despite that, I sensed a sincerity—an almost urgency—to his words. And while it wasn’t the first time he’d complimented me, it felt different. We were different somehow.
He tilted his head to mine, our foreheads touching. His blue eyes were dark, questioning. I sucked in a breath as he tangled his fingers in my curls, pulling my hair gently. He was the one person I’d let play with my hair. The one person I’d subject myself to taming the frizz for.
I closed my eyes, reveling in the feel of his hands on me. The smell of his minty toothpaste as his breath fanned over my skin. The heat emanating from his body, so close to mine.
He pressed his lips to my cheek, and my eyelashes fluttered in response. Even though it was the barest of touches, it felt like a jolt to my system.
“Was that okay?” he murmured. His voice sounded different. Everything about my best friend seemed different.
“Yes,” I breathed, scared to move for fear of breaking the spell. I’d wanted this—him—for so long. It was hard to believe it was actually happening and not just a dream.
“What about this?” he asked, kissing down my jaw.
“Mm-hmm.” It was more than okay. It was quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to me.
I held my breath, waiting for his next move. I wanted time to slow down and speed up all at once. I couldn’t wait for him to kiss me, but I also feared what would happen when he did. What if it was terrible? What if I’d built it up in my mind so much that reality could never live up to that memory and the fantasies I’d created of it? What if—
He silenced my thoughts with his lips. At first, I stiffened, but as he continued to glide his lips against mine, I relaxed into his touch. And then I smiled. Justin was kissing me. We were kissing. And not just kissing, at least not like I’d ever kissed before. We were making love with our mouths, two souls connecting.
And the longer we kissed, the more frantic our movements became. With every thrust of his tongue, I imagined his body mimicking the movement. The more we touched, the more my appetite for him grew. His hands were in my hair, on my shoulders, clawing at my shirt, pulling it over my head.
I was just as eager, just as out of control. I tugged at the hem of his T-shirt, and he reached behind his neck and pulled it off. I studied his chest—the smooth skin, strong muscles, the dusting of hair. He was… Wow. Though it wasn’t the first time I’d seen Justin shirtless, it was the first where I could look my fill.
And he drank me in just as greedily, his eyes caressing my bare skin. They lingered on my nipples, which puckered in response. The pebbled buds straining against the lace of my red bralette, aching to be touched by him.
He laid me back on the bed, our lips colliding once more. His kiss—like his touch—was firm yet reverential. Confident even in the softest of caresses. He didn’t hesitate to touch me like he owned me, and perhaps he knew he already did. Always had.
The only sound was that of our shared breaths as he crawled over me. His hard length grazed my thigh through my pajamas before nudging my center. My very wet, very achy, center.
He groaned into my ear as we began to rock against each other, dry-humping in my childhood bedroom like a pair of horny teenagers. And yet—nothing had ever seemed so hot. I was half convinced I was dreaming. And I didn’t want to wake up, didn’t want it to end. Not in a few days, not ever.
“God, Brie. You feel so amazing.” His voice was low and rich, sending vibrations down my spine.
“Yes,” I sighed into his mouth, arching my hips to gain more friction. I wanted more of everything. More of his hard chest brushing against my breasts. More of his hips grinding against mine. More of those whispered words I’d always longed to hear from his lips. It was enough to nearly set me off, and we’d barely removed any clothes.
He slid a hand up to cup my breast, and I moaned.
“Shh.” He chuckled. “You don’t want your parents to hear us, do you?”
My eyes snapped open. I was allowing myself to get carried away, but then I remembered it wasn’t real. None of it was real. Even as he kissed his way down my stomach, the lust-filled haze started to clear. My brain overrode my body, telling me to stop. Because soon, we’d cross a line we couldn’t go back from. Kissing was one thing—though, we’d gotten carried away with the dry-humping. But sex was…sex would… I panted, my body like a live wire. We just couldn’t. Especially not with my parents sleeping down the hall.
Despite the fact that my clit was crying out for his touch. Despite his impressive hard-on, nudging between my thighs. We had to stop.
He stilled, hovering above me. His warm gaze found mine. “What’s wrong?”
“I—” I shook my head. “We.” I swallowed, forcing the words out. “Can’t.”