“It doesn’t need to be weird if we decide it won’t be. We’ll take things slow, and never make you uncomfortable.”
“It could be fun, actually,” Cade says. “As it is, we sit around here watching too much TV.”
“But what about your girlfriend? Aren’t you dating someone?” I look at Cade first and then glance around at the others.
“We broke up,” Cade says simply.
A thrill runs through me at finding out that Cade’s single, something I’ve hoped for since I met him. I wish I had the nerve to get him alone and confess how I’ve always felt about him, but now he’s offering to take me on fake practice dates, along with his brothers – it’s not exactly the scenario I’ve dreamed about.
I know they’re making their offer out of pity, though they’re too kind to admit or even recognize that they pity me. They want to be helpful, but the fact remains that they’re only offering to date me to do me a favor.
“No one else is dating anyone?” I look around again at the other three men. “I mean, I know what you’re proposing isn’t anything real, but I don’t want to make someone’s girlfriend mad.”
“Nope, not dating anyone.” Logan’s eyes lock on mine as he answers and I feel a funny little kick in my belly.
Knox and Ryder shake their heads. “Not an issue. All clear at the moment,” Knox says.
“Okay, well, I appreciate your offer.” I give them a small smile and stand up straighter, ready to move past the subject for now, though part of my mind is spinning, wondering how this is all going to work, and whether it’s going to turn out to be a big mistake.
“That’s what friends are for,” Cade says, grinning back at me. “Ready to get back to Sherlock?”
9
We could all kiss you
After I finally reach the bathroom, where I splash cold water on my face, I return to the family room and settle in to watch TV, hoping that now that everything’s out in the open, I’ll be able to focus better.
At first, I’m still preoccupied, wondering how these dates will actually work, and worried that, despite our best efforts, they will interfere with our friendship, but it’s not long before Sherlock grabs my attention and doesn’t let go. Why haven’t I watched this program sooner?
We finish one episode and are at a tense point in the second one when I feel eyes on me. Ryder is on my left, and he’s watching me instead of the TV screen.
“What’s up?” I whisper, wondering how he isn’t riveted to the drama.
He leans in, bending his head to my ear. “Can I ask you something?”
My stomach tightens. After what we talked about earlier – and what I confessed – I’m afraid I won’t like his question, but I nod anyway.
“Had you really never kissed anyone before?”
“Outside of a boy in elementary school, no, I hadn’t.” My face must show my embarrassment because he rushes to soothe me.
“That’s nothing to feel bad about,” he says. “I just can’t believe that someone who looks like you hasn’t been kissed.”
“Oh.” He says someone who looks like you like he thinks I’m attractive. My cheeks heat yet again.
“I don’t want you going to bed tonight with that terrible experience on your mind.” His voice is quiet, meant only for me, but it draws attention nevertheless.
Logan grabs the remote and pauses the show. “What are you two talking about?”
My face grows warmer still as Ryder says, “I want to wipe the memory of that asshole’s so-called kiss from Bianca’s mind. That shouldn’t be how she remembers her first kiss.”
Cade and Knox both nod in agreement.
Ryder turns back to me, his voice soft. “Bianca, would it be okay if I kissed you? To replace the bad memory.”
“We could all kiss you,” Logan says. “May as well get started tonight on giving you some experience.”
There’s a flash of heat at my core, even while a shiver of hesitation raises the hair on my arms. But they’re asking my permission. They’re not attacking me like Tom did. I mean, of course they’re not, they’re my friends. And, as friends, they’re offering to help me.
I give Ryder a small nod and he slowly moves his face closer to mine. “Right here?” I ask. “Right now?” The flutter of nerves in my belly is nearly overwhelming.
He grins. “It’s just a kiss, B. A kiss between friends.”
Before his head blocks my view of the others, I see his brothers respectfully turn away, giving us some privacy even as we’re all sitting on the same big sectional.
As I close my eyes, a flicker of what looks like nervousness crosses Ryder’s features. This is probably awkward for him, despite him trying to make it seem like no big deal. His breath tickles the skin above my lip a split second before his mouth presses against mine. Softly, gently. Night and day to Tom’s aggressive style.