Just tell Ian.
And as she thought about it more, she thought maybe she should take her own advice and talk to Reese.
15
That weekend
Keira heard Reese’s truck before he even pulled up to her house. She pulled the living room curtain aside and watched as he pulled around the circular driveway before coming to a stop in front of the house. Her father was in his study, far too invested in work, and her mother had gone out for an evening of cocktails with her friends.
She was thankful for small miracles, because she really didn’t want to have her parents give her the interrogation on who and what Reese was to her. Because she wouldn't have been able to answer honestly… because she had no clue.
But maybe after tonight she would.
Her plan was to talk to him, to be honest about how she felt. And if he wanted distance because it made things weird if he didn’t feel that way toward her, then so be it.
But on the off chance he wanted something more, then she wanted to take that risk.
He climbed out of his truck, and she let the curtain drop back in place. She stepped away from the window and pressed her now overheated body against the wall. That's all it took to have her on fire.
Just one look at him.
He knocked on the door twice, and she smoothed her now sweaty hands down her jeans. Walking over to the door, she slipped her ballet flats on, took a deep breath in, and blew it out slowly. Opening the door, Keira couldn’t look at him at first and instead stared at the ground, feeling nervous, because she knew what she wanted to do tonight.
And that scared the shit out of her.
“Hey,” he said, and she lifted her head to look into his eyes. He wore that sexy as hell half-smile, the same one that had her heart beating funny.
“Hi,” she said, biting her lip.
“You ready?”
She nodded, turned to grab her purse, then stepped outside and shut the door behind her.
“Your parents okay with us going out? You need to be home at a certain time?”
“My mother will probably be too drunk to drive, so she’ll stay in the city with her wino friends. And my dad will pass out in his leather recliner with the stock market flashing across the TV.” She glanced at him. “In other words, they won’t care or even know when I get home.”
“Well, okay then. Good to know I have you all night if I want.”
She lowered her head so her hair hid her face, because his words seemed very suggestive, and her face turned red.
When he got to the passenger side, he opened the door for her. It felt like a date, what with the opening of doors and all, but she wasn’t going to let her mind fall into that trap. He was a nice guy, and this was what guys who weren’t rich assholes at BMA did.
He shut the door before she could thank him, and he made his way around the front of the truck to climb into the driver side. For a second, he didn’t start the truck, just sat there, staring straight ahead, something clearly on his mind.
“Everything okay?” Now she was feeling weird. Maybe he was having second thoughts about hanging out tonight?
He looked at her after a second, as if he’d been deep in thought and realized she spoke to him.
Reese didn’t say anything, but there was this tightness to his face.
“We don’t have to do this tonight. I mean, if you want to say forget it—”
“It’s not that,” he interjected.
“Okay,” she said slowly and nodded. “Is there something you want to talk about?”
He shook his head and faced forward again. “A movie good?” he asked, changing the subject.
She felt her brows pull low but nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”
The drive to the theater was done in relative silence, with the only thing breaking up the thickness between them coming from the radio as song after song played.
The town center was packed, with restaurants crowded, people eating outside on the patios, and parking lots filled. He pulled the truck into the theater’s parking lot and cut the engine. He was out of the truck before she could say anything or even move. Before she could climb out herself, he was there, opening it for her and helping her out.
After they had their tickets and found their seats, they sat there in silence once again. This night was becoming more uncomfortable, and not for the reason she thought it would be. It had nothing to do with her being honest with him, and everything to do with this wall between her and Reese now, because something was clearly bothering him.
Keira decided it was what it was, and tonight was obviously not the night to be honest, so she faced forward and waited for the movie to start. But after a second, she felt his gaze on her, and she looked over to see him staring at her.
The darkness of his eyes melded with the shadows around them, and she felt herself falling deeper into them… into him.
But even though they hadn’t talked about anything… at all really, and he was acting really strange and tense, there was no denying what she saw in his face when he looked at her.
Undeniable interest.
16
Keira couldn’t breathe, and all she heard was the pounding of her heart in her ears. All she felt was the race of it as it slammed against her ribs.
“What?” she prompted softly, not only so she didn’t disturb the other people in the theater, but because she couldn’t find her voice because of the way he looked at her.
Could he hear how fast her heart was beating? It sounded so loud in her ears. And then she felt it, his hand gentle on hers. She looked down, her mouth dry and her throat tight. Her pulse beat between her thighs so hard she clenched them together. And she was wet. God, he made her soaked by just staring at her, by just touching her hand.
“This doesn’t feel like something friends do, Reese.” She had no idea why she said those words, maybe to stop something that wasn’t supposed to happen, or maybe she wanted him to have an out in case this was all in her head.
Either way, those words hung between them, and he still held her hand.
His nostrils flared slightly, and a heated expression crossed his face. She looked at his lips, ones that she wanted pressed to hers. They were full, soft-looking. When he didn’t respond, she lifted her gaze back to his.
“No, this isn’t something friends do, Keira.”
God. What’s happening?
“This isn’t how friends feel for each other,” he added so low, so soft that she wondered if he had even meant to say it out loud.
Everything else around her faded as Reese slowly lowered his head toward her. “If this isn’t what you want,” he whispered, still moving toward her ever-so-slowly, “tell me now, Keira.”
She didn’t tell him a damn thing.
Her heart stopped at the first gentle brush of his lips against hers. He intertwined their fingers together, holding her hand tightly. With his other hand, he slid his fingers to the back of her neck and dug the tips against her flesh, holding her tight, keeping her steady as he increased the pressure of the kiss.
She’d never been kissed like this, never felt such raw arousal claim her. Every part of her was on fire, this volcano that was ready to erupt.
At the first swipe of his tongue against her bottom lip, Keira moaned and opened wider for him. His kiss was hot and penetrating, and all he did was drag his tongue along hers, tease and tantalize it until she was chasing it back into his mouth and doing the same. His deep, vibrating groan resonated all the way to her core, sending shockwaves throughout her entire frame.