His smile falters, but he puts it right back into place with a laugh. “No. I wouldn’t trust this water yet, either.” He chuckles and I let out a gentle laugh too.
The space between us heats.
I just have to be closer to him. I’m alone with him. This is what we always wanted.
A place we could go to get away from everyone else. A place we could be without our parents knocking on the door. A place where there were no rules or curfew. A real place of our own.
“Is it hot in here?” I ask and I reach for my shirt before I realize what I’m doing and start to unbutton it.
Asher’s eyes darken. His breathing picks up.
I get the top button undone, then the next. He watches with hungry eyes as my fingers work over them.
He swallows hard. Keeps his hands firmly in his pockets. His eyes trail back up my skin to my face.
“Brianna,” he warns in a tone I fucking love. A tone I haven’t heard in far too long. It’s the darker side of the tone he used in the bar when he told me not to be bad. This time he means it. This time he means he won’t be able to hold back.
“What?” I say as if I have no idea what I’m doing, slipping the shirt off my shoulders. I have a cami on underneath, and a lace bra peeks through. There’s still more to go. He could still stop me if he wanted. The bulge in his pants says he doesn’t want to stop me.
“I thought we were friends,” he says.
“Who said we weren’t friends?” I counter.
“You said you wanted to be friends first.” His voice is thick with how much he wants this. I recognize that voice on him.
Asher can’t pretend that he doesn’t want me. He can’t pretend that he’s only thinking of platonic friendship.
“Aren’t you the one who suggested friends with benefits?” I ask him. “Or were you just teasing me?” I arch an eyebrow.
He only smirks and lets his gaze drift down my body. Never once have I felt self-conscious in front of him. Even now, he groans in need. Like I’m testing him.
As if I’m the one who’s been doing that. He’s been pushing me all night.
The image of his body on mine lights every nerve ending in me on fire. I think of that back room at the bar. Every hot illicit thought I’ve had about him, filters in one by one. Not just the ones since we broke up, but always. I wanted him this way before I was even fully aware of what wanting him meant as a woman. That’s how long I’ve loved Asher.
I pull my cami over my head. He stops and stares as if he hasn’t seen me naked before. As if this is truly the most beautiful sight he’s ever seen. I could be standing in front of the Wonders of the World, and he’d still only see me.
He shakes his head a bit, his thumb resting on his bottom lip.
“Friends,” he says again, and I know what he’s doing. He’s trying to give me what I wanted and put a stop to this. I demanded that we start with friendship. I begged him for it.
I wanted to slow down, but tonight?
Tonight I need it to speed up.
The dream is moving on without me, and I won’t miss it. At least, I won’t miss it tonight.
This might be the only chance Asher and I have to be together in the house we dreamed of in high school. This might be the only chance we have to live out those fantasies.
I’m done not taking chances. I’m done second-guessing my actions.
I stop thinking and act. I’ll worry about tomorrow when it comes and not a moment before.
I reach for my bra, but Asher takes a step forward, stopping me. He strides closer and closer until I have to look up to look into his face. His hand comes down over mine.
“Are you sure about this?” he asks. “Are you absolutely sure? Because it was supposed to be about friendship, Bri. That’s what it was supposed to be about.”
His hand holds my wrist ever so gently, and I know it’s because he wants to be the one to take my bra off if we’re going to do this. And if we’re not, he wants to be the one to help me put my clothes back on.