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Not good, but better, and where my best friend was concerned, that was better than nothing.
The doorbell rang just as I sank my teeth into a third slice, and I groaned. “What now?” Taking my time to savor the bite before getting up, I made my grumpy way to the door and glanced out the window, surprised to see a nervous-looking Sophie on my doorstep. I pulled the door open with a blank stare. “Sophie. What are you doing here?”
She fisted her hands on her hips, big brown eyes blazing with fury. “I’m here because apparently my best friend has taken to ignoring me, and I want to know why! Why, Stone?”
“I haven’t been ignoring you, I’ve been busy.” Maybe I was ignoring her just a little, but only because she’s so damn infuriating.
“Busy? That’s what you’re going with? You’ve been busy?” Sophie pushed at my chest and I took a step back, watching her, mesmerized by how gorgeous she looked all angry and fighting back. “That’s crap and you know it.”
Arms crossed over my chest, I arched a brow. “Do I?” She nodded, with that look of annoyed defiance that made her lips pout temptingly and I took a step forward.
“What should I have said to the cat meme, Soph? Lol? Or the old people getting it on GIF? Laughing and crying emoji?”
She backed up with a gasp. “You usually respond.”
“Yeah, I do. But we don’t usually kiss, so excuse me if I don’t want to talk social media crap with you.” She was backed up against the door, brown eyes now the color of tea stared up at me, wide and wary. “Was that all?”
“No,” she growled and lunged at me, pressing her mouth to mine and shocking the hell out of me.
It only took an instant for me to think about what was happening and to respond accordingly. My hands went to her hips and held on while she plunged her tongue into my mouth. The gentle glide of her soft tongue against mine was enough to send fire spreading through me. I pressed against her and a low moan escaped. I smiled against her lips and wrapped her in my arms, relishing the feel of her feminine heat.
My hands went to Sophie’s ass and I ground against her, deepening the kiss the way I’d longed to do the other night, and so many other nights before. She tasted like chocolate and cinnamon, I couldn’t get enough, delving deeper in her mouth, our lips and tongues and teeth a mash of hidden desires we both ignored for too long.
The kiss was hot. But as my hand slid under the soft fabric of her shirt, Sophie gasped and smacked my hand away.
I took a step back, my gaze locked with hers so she was unable to look away, my hands on my hips while I waited for what came next.
“Sophie?”
She shook her head and reached behind her. I knew what she was planning to do. Run. “Stone…we can’t. This…can’t.”
I grabbed her arm before she could even think about running away from this conversation. “Don’t run from me. Talk to me, Soph. You came here to talk, so talk. Want a beer?”
Her face scrunched up into a bitter frown. “You have any wine?”
I shook my head. “Got beer and bourbon. What’ll it be?”
“A small glass of bourbon, I guess.” I nodded and headed to the kitchen, hoping she would follow. “There’s nothing for us to talk about Stone. This kiss and the other one, shouldn’t have happened.”
Here we go again. “But it did happen. It happened twice, Soph.”
How could she deny the passion that existed between us? That had always existed between us, before we even knew what real passion was. Whether we argued over the better Batman—Michael Keaton, obviously—or the best way to enjoy ketchup on fries—covering every inch of potato—there was always a lot of passion. Always.
“But it shouldn’t have. We’re friends, Stone.”
“And the best relationships are the ones where friendship and love coexist. We can be more than friends Sophie, I know you feel it too.”
I knew I was in trouble when she knocked back the small shot of bourbon that I passed to her and shook her head, angry and scared.
“We’re friends, Stone. Friends.” Her shoulders were set, her spine erect with certainty, even as a hint of vulnerability shone through when she wrapped her arms around her body.
I knew. I knew the answer, but I had to ask anyway. “You’re not even willing to consider it?”
She shook her head and raked a hand through her thick blond waves. “I’m not willing to risk our friendship. Not for anything.”
Not for anything. “Not even love?” Sophie shook her head once again and my shoulders fell at the same time my heart sank into my stomach. “All right, then. I guess there’s nothing more to say.” The look of relief that stole over Sophie broke my heart all over again and I took a step back because this time when she left, I wouldn’t stop her.
