“So, friends?” Renee took the lead, fixing things with as few words as possible. She didn’t come right out and say that we were going to simply ignore this intensity between us, but we both knew that was the case. As she stuck her hand out to me, I grabbed it and shook it willingly. “Good. I think we can do friends, right? We were friends once before. Sort of.”
I tossed my head back and laughed. “Sort of is right. For a while.”
Renee’s face fell a little. “Until the inevitable breakup.”
“Please don’t hold that against me. I did give Trey some shit for that at the time.” Not that he remembered it now.
“I know you did. Thanks for that, but all of that is so long ago now.” She waved her hand dismissively, but I wasn’t entirely convinced she didn’t still hold a little bit of hurt in her heart about the whole thing. Trey was clearly her first love, and the way he hurt her was bound to leave some scars behind. But if she wanted to put it behind her, then so be it. I could so the same. “I won’t be holding anything against you.”
We smiled at one another for a second, our eyes locked on one another for a beat too long. That sizzling chemistry was still there, there was no denying it, but I was certain Renee and I could make this friendship work if we kept trying.
“Hey, you want to head out to the pond?” Renee asked me. “I could use some fresh air, I don’t know about you. The paint fumes are wreaking havoc with my mind.”
“Paint fumes,” I echoed. “Sure thing. Let’s head out to the pond. You know, I haven’t really seen the pond yet. Not up close anyway.”
“Oh, you are going to love it. It’s the one thing I really do love about my home here.”
“Not the view?” I asked in surprise.
“A view can be found anywhere. A pond, much less so.”
“True.”
Renee reached toward me, almost as if she was going to take my hand, but she thought better of it at the last minute, which was a shame, but definitely for the best. My eyes trailed down her body once more, but this time I was caught up in the fact that this wasn’t her usual clothing. I’d never seen her dressed in anything other than her sweet-looking conservative outfits. But now she was in plain grey sweatpants and a t-shirt. I guess that was all she could find in her bathroom as I stood outside, but she looked cute in them. The casual side of Renee was actually adorable. Maybe that was the sort of clothing I was going to see her in now that we were friends.
“Last one down to the pond has to cook breakfast,” she laughed as she broke away from me. “And no cheating.”
I didn’t move right away; I was still in shock about all of it. Every moment, from the second I first walked in on her by mistake, to the time she had her hands on me, all over my body, even to the painting, and now this… Renee was a roller coaster, and I loved being a part of it. Laughing, I took off after her, keeping the wolf within me until I reached outside the home. Then I set my wolf free, let it burst through my skin. The animal within me first came to me during puberty, just before Trey experienced the same thing. Not that he was ever as comfortable with it as I was. I bounced happily on four paws, following behind Renee just enough to let her win. Not just because I didn’t mind making breakfast for her, but because she’d happily forgiven me for my transgression, just as I had for hers, and we were going to be friends.
Also, truth be told, I couldn’t help wanting to admire the curves of her body as she walked away from me. Just because we were going to ignore the sizzling tension between us didn’t mean she wasn’t the most beautiful woman that I had ever laid eyes on.