“Why are you even here? You know you don’t live here, right? Did your wife finally throw you out?” she teased, amusement filling his golden eyes. He was insanely sweet to his wife, Poppy, but he was also a lethal weapon. I’d seen him fight in the cage before and do target practice.
I wasn’t surprised he’d made it into the Psychos crew so easily.
“Poppy would never leave me, I’m too handsome. I’ve been hanging out with Ry and Jett. We’re watching a movie if you want to join us.”
“Yeah, we were just going to hang around the house until dinnertime.” Riley answered, taking my wrist and tugging me along behind her. Mikey smirked, and I knew what he was thinking.
Everyone knew how badly Riley wanted me, and I was really worried her affections towards me would turn our friendship sour, even if she never made a move. Everything I did made me wonder if I was sending her the wrong signals, and eventually, she’d either try to take it further, or she’d start avoiding me.
Either way, I couldn’t lose her.
She pulled me down onto the couch beside her, dropping her arm around my shoulders like she always did. I tensed, earning a frown from her as I leaned away a little. Maybe it was my fault she was into me since I’d always let her cuddle me. I didn’t see other people doing that with their best friends.
Mikey and Ryder shared a silent conversation, apparently noticing it too, but no one said anything. Riley sighed softly and sat up properly, but she didn’t relax. If she’d had her hoodie on, I knew she would’ve been hiding under the hood by now.
Twenty minutes later, I gave in and leaned into her, her muscles loosening instantly as she wrapped an arm behind my back. Her fingers traced patterns on my spine, and I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the soft massage. I was a sucker for back tickles.
I forced myself not to jerk away as she slipped her hand up the back of my shirt, continuing the patterns directly onto my skin. She hadn’t done that before.
It felt nice, but I kept fighting myself about it. I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea.
Things were definitely easier before she’d drunkenly blurted out her feelings for me. Ignorance was bliss.
I sat there for ten more minutes before excusing myself to use the bathroom, needing a moment to myself. I heard Mikey warning her not to push me the second I left the room, telling me everyone else was thinking the same thing as me.
Riley was definitely starting to push the boundaries of our friendship, and that terrified me.
I didn’t want to fight with her, but even if I liked girls, I wouldn’t do anything behind Stanley’s back.
I loved him, and I was trying to keep us together, not tear us apart.
I paced in the bathroom for a minute, finally getting a grip on myself and heading back to the living room. I had to be honest with her, and if she cared about me, she’d understand I didn’t see her as more than a friend.
If she tried making a move, I’d politely call her out on it.
Luckily for me, Mikey’s warning must have sunk in, because she didn’t try to touch me for the rest of the movie. For some weird reason, I didn’t like the distance between us even though it was exactly what I’d wanted.
ChapterSix
Riley
I’d mentally scolded myself for not being able to stop my hands from wandering under Luna’s shirt. I hadn’t even noticed I’d done it until she’d bailed from the room and Mikey told me off for pushing her and making her uncomfortable.
It was early the next morning, and despite the pep talk I’d given myself already, I found myself spooning her, my arm wrapped around her middle as she slept peacefully beside me in bed, just like she always did when she stayed over. I buried my face between her shoulder blades, my lips skimming her soft skin. How was I supposed to keep my hands off of her when she kept wearing skimpy shorts and tiny tank tops to bed? This was torture, but I had to respect her boundaries.
I let out a sigh, forcing myself to roll away from her before she could wake up to find me practically humping her leg.
I laid there for a while just staring at the ceiling before tensing as Luna rolled over and snuggled into me, throwing her leg over mine. Her tiny shorts didn’t cover the heat radiating from her pussy that was pressed against my thigh, and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from moaning.
She blinked up at me as she woke up properly, her cheeks turning pink as she realized how close we were. “Um, morning,” she said awkwardly, blinking at me as if to make sure she was awake.
“Morning. We need to get up if we don’t want to be late for our morning lecture,” I replied brightly, not drawing attention to her snuggling. I didn’t want her to feel embarrassed about it.
She nodded, pulling back and climbing out of bed as if her ass was on fire. She quickly snatched her clothes from the drawer she had here and darted from the room to get ready for the day.
I scrubbed my hands over my face before doing the same, quickly changing into my track pants, a shirt, and grabbing my hoodie and sneakers from the pile I’d left them in on the floor last night.
I brushed my hair and pulled my hood over my head once I was done, and by the time I had everything I’d need for the day and my bat in my grip, Luna wandered back in. She didn’t meet my eye as she put her shoes on and followed me down to the kitchen. I decided to let her freak out in silence. Anything I said would make it worse anyway.