“You always say that, but you know exactly how to make me feel better, so you must be good atsomething.” Which wasn’t a lie. After mom left and dad got sick, Liam was the only one who could deal when I finally broke from the strain. “And don’t call me Charlotte,” I added, though I knew it was pointless to remind him because in the years we’d been friends, he’d never listened.
“Well, you’re pretty easy to cheer up. Cookies, a little time away. Piece of cake. Maybe I would kickass as the committed boyfriend.”
I ignored the boyfriend comment. “You make everything seem so easy,” I said as I lost myself in the deep blue-black endlessness of the night sky. “I wish I could be like you.”
“Bullheaded?” he said with a laugh.
“To a point,” I said honestly.
“You don’t wanna be like me,” he replied and tugged me closer to his warmth. My eyes began to flutter closed. I was warm, surrounded by Liam and felt safe. I always felt safe when I was around him and that was more important than any kiss. “You’re perfect just the way you are.”
Chapter Seven
Liam
We must have fallenasleep in the back of my dad’s old truck because when I cracked open my eyes what felt like seconds later, it was morning and I was fucking freezing, despite the blanket. Charlie had curled into a ball beside me, and at some point during the night, I’d wrapped myself around her to keep warm. I wished I could blame my baser human instincts for what happened next, but I’d be lying to myself if I tried.
Her forehead was braced on my chest and my nose was buried in her hair. At first, I didn’t realize where the scent was coming from. I got excited thinking my mom was baking apple pie first thing in the morning until I remembered it was a Sunday and she was probably more interested in sleeping in than cooking.
Then Charlie shifted a little in her sleep and the green apple scent met my nose, nearly causing me to groan out loud. Not that she would have noticed, as she was still snoring softly, her hands tucked in between our chests. But I certainly still wasn’t asleep. Nope. Every single part of me had woken the hell up and was ready to go.
Head still cloudy with sleep, veins full of spiky adrenaline and the sweet, seductive call of lust, I didn’t fully realize what I was doing at first. It’s never been in my nature to curb my instincts and I’ve always been affectionate. So it didn’t occur to me to resist the urge to pull her closer, pressing her soft curves to me. She shivered and made a little sound in her throat that I felt all the way down in my dick.
“Liam!” my grandma shouted from somewhere back in reality.
The sound of her voice was too close, and it jerked me so thoroughly back from the sex-fueled haze I’d been under that I threw myself backward, knocking my head on the toolbox and causing me to see stars.
“Fuck!”
I rolled to my side and away from making what could possibly be the biggest mistake of my life and was grateful for the pain spearing through my head. It kept me from thinking about how goddamn good she’d felt in my arms. It also quelled the raging morning wood.
But it didn’t help the craving for her.
My whole body was still screaming that she fit so perfectly against me. I’d spent all weekend trying to forget the moment of insanity that had caused me to kiss her. Waking up wrapped in her brought back every second of how it felt to have her tight little body against mine. How, for just a split-second, she’d responded to me in a way that made me want to taste and take until we were both spent from it.
I forced myself to get up and slide down the tailgate. I waved to Grandma, who was on the back porch not too far from the barren field where I’d parked us for the night. She waved back and went inside the house, the screen door slapping shut behind her.
“Are you okay?”
The sound of Charlie’s rusty morning voice had all of my muscles clenching down to keep from reaching for her and pulling her back against me. The groping, fumbling jerk wasn’t what she needed right now. She’d opened up to me and I’d be damned if I’d be another Andrew who used her for what she was willing to give and then dropped her as soon as they were done. She meant more to me than that. It was just my dick who couldn’t seem to get with the program.
Remembering that she was waiting on my answer, I composed myself long enough to nod and say, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just forgot where I was for a second, I guess.”
“Did you have a nightmare?” I could tell from her tone she was smiling. Even though my head was pounding and I was mired between confusion and annoyance, I smiled back.
“No, I didn’t have a nightmare, Charlotte. Grandma Dorothy scared the shit out of me.” I pushed my fingers into my eyes, then rolled my shoulders.
“I can’t believe we fell asleep out here,” she said as she sat up. The blanket fell to her lap and my mouth watered at her rumpled state. It made me want to push her back against the blankets and kiss her ‘till the sun was high in the sky.
“Me either.” Though falling asleep in my truck was the least of my worries.
She began picking through her dark hair with one hand as she yawned. She didn’t look any different, which confused me more than anything because when I looked at her, all I could think about was how much I wanted to see if there was anything else I’d missed about her over the past twelve years. I couldn’t even count how many times she’d been close enough for me to catch the scent of her hair, but it had never hit me like it did this morning, and it only made me want to find out what other secrets she’d been hiding.
It must have been the kiss. Knowing what she tasted like, how she felt under my hands. It was driving me crazy wanting to do it again.
“What?” she asked, jerking me from my thoughts. “Do I have something on my face?”
She started rubbing at her cheeks. I cleared my throat and started cleaning up the blankets, folding them as though I had a clue how to fold shit. If I didn’t keep my hands and mind busy, I was afraid I might do something really fucking stupid, like bury my face in her hair for another whiff of her shampoo.
