This is not good!
“Lucas.” I take in a deep breath to calm my sudden nerves. This is Lucas, my best friend. I can’t be having these feelings about him. My eyes stay on his large hands as I speak, “We’ve been apart for four years, but you’re still my best friend. How could I be anywhere else right now? Do you have somewhere to stay? If not, I want you to stay with me. Dad and I have a job lined up for you, and I’ll only worry if you’re not with me.”
“I’m not your responsibility, Annie.”
“Yes, you are!” I snap, taking both of us by surprise. I take another calming breath before looking up to meet his eyes. “I care about you. It’s my fault you were in this mess to begin with, so you’re staying with me, and that’s final.”
Lucas’s face immediately darkens, and he squeezes my hands roughly. “Don’t say that, don’t you dare ever say that, Annie. What happened was in no way your fault, it was that asshole, Chase. If I could go back and do it again, I’d kill that bastard.”
“Then you would’ve gone to jail, and who knows when or if I’d ever see you again?” Lucas starts to speak, but I cut him off, “No. Let’s leave the past in the past. We’re together now, and that’s what matters. That, and you coming home with me where I can interrogate you about the last four years of your life and update you on mine.”
Lucas’s face clears, and his lips turn up in a smirk. “You’ve gotten kind of bossy, haven’t you?” he says.
I roll my eyes, but don’ respond as I turn and pull him toward my car, which is waiting at the curb. The driver sees us approach and quickly opens the rear door for us. The ride to my apartment building is a quiet one. I continue to hold Lucas’s hand, but we don’t speak until we arrive at the entrance to my apartment. There’s a new tension between us that wasn’t there before. It feels like every cell in my body is aware of Lucas, and I’m itchy all over. I can only assume it’s the awkwardness that comes from being apart, and I assure myself it will go away soon.
“How about Thai food and a movie?” I ask as we pass through the entryway into the living room.
“That sounds good,” Lucas says, plopping down on my couch.
I place the order for our food, already knowing what Lucas prefers, while Lucas chooses a movie. A short while later, we are both on the couch, trading containers of food and arguing over whichFast and Furiousmovie is the best. I don’t really care, but I know Lucas’s has strong opinions about it, and I get a kick out of purposely disagreeing with him.
By the time we are done eating, we’ve mostly reverted back to our old ways. I gather the trash from the coffee table, and when I return from throwing it out, I find Lucas stretched out on the couch. I stand there awkwardly for a moment. In the past, we would stretch out together and Lucas would wrap me in his arms while we watched movies. Now, I’m not sure what to do. I haven’t seen Lucas in four years. Would he be okay with holding me like that now?
Before I can spiral further, Lucas sits up, grabs my hand, and pulls me down onto the couch with him, positioning me in front of his long body, with his back against the couch. After a moment’s hesitation, I relax against him, and we continue watching car chase, after car chase as the movie plays on.
One move turns into two, and neither of us moves from our cocoon on the couch, but I’m not as relaxed as I’m trying to appear. Lucas’s thumb is lazily drawing patterns on my belly, and the fingers of his other hand are toying with the hem of my shirt. Every pass of his fingers against my skin sends shockwaves through my body. My breathing has turned shallow, and I’ve pressed back against Lucas without meaning to. Lucas shifts against me, and I choke on a gasp as I feel his hard length pressed against my ass. Has holding me, touching me, made him hard? I have no idea how to react to what I’m feeling, and I bolt up off the couch without warning.
“It’s getting pretty late; I think we should get to bed. I have classes in the morning, and I know dad wants to see you about that job,” I say quickly.
“Okay,” Lucas says, drawing the word out slowly like he’s talking to a skittish animal, which I guess I am.
“I’ll show you to your room and get you settled. I got you some toiletries already, they’re in your bathroom. Tomorrow, we can get your things and move you in.”
Before he can respond, I turn and walk down the hallway with Luke trailing slowly behind me. I make quick work of showing him to his room and giving him a run-down of where everything is, letting him know to help himself. When I’ve finally run out of words, I stand in front of him for a moment. He’s looking at me with an intense, unreadable expression, and it has the butterflies in my stomach fluttering wildly.
“Okay, I guess that’s it then. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Annie,” Lucas says, not making a move to enter his room, his eyes boring into mine.
I hesitate for another moment, then add in a soft, quiet voice, “I’m really glad you’re here, Lucas.” Standing on my tiptoes, I kiss Lucas on the cheek, then make a beeline for my room.
I close my bedroom door and fall against it, releasing a breath I had no idea I was holding.
What the hell is happening to me?
Lucas has been back less than a day, and I’m ready to jump out of my skin. I’ve always been attracted to Lucas, but those feelings seem to have multiplied tenfold while we were apart. Every part of me is throbbing with both heat and excitement unlike anything I have ever experienced. My nipples have beaded against the silk of my dress, and I need….
I have no idea what I need.
While arousal is not new to me, this intensity is. In the past, I have been able to ignore it, but now… I bite my lower lip to hold back a moan as a fresh image of Lucas pops up in my head.
The thought of his large, rough hands running over my sensitive nipples, brushing them with his thumb, has my wet sex clenching. His lips—
A knock on the door startles me out of my daydream.
“Lucas!” I gasp, and it comes out way more breathless than I’d have wanted it to.
The silence from the other side of the door is unnerving. Can he tell what I’ve been thinking? How desperately I want to feel his hands on my body?