She was being overemotional and exhaustion had her fighting not to burst into tears. It was more than Parker–it was everything going on in her life. Why couldn’t everything just go back to normal? It wasn’t really that she was mad at him. Before she could explain it, his eyes narrowed and he leaned toward her.
“I told that asshole,” he said. “If you needed a good, hard fuck, as he suggested, I was the man to give it to you. He had nothing to offer you were interested in,” he seethed. “They were smart enough to clear out before I beat their friend to death for touching you.”
“Oh,” was all she could get out. He was standing entirely too close. Even smelling like beer and sweat, he made her body start to hum. Why did her body insist on reminding her that it was desperate for something she would never have? This was promising to be the longest summer of her life.
“I wasn’t fighting with Max either,” Parker added. “He was worried about you. I told him nothing was going on. I’m not trying to be a dick. I just don’t like you walking into that apartment after dark, it’s not safe.”
“I’m sorry,” Astrid whispered, looking at his chest. “You were just trying to be a good friend and I blew it all out of proportion.” She couldn’t bring herself to look in his eyes. She had acted like a petulant child. Parker was just worried about her.
Feeling his hand gently lift her chin until she was looking at him, she felt a tear roll down her cheek.
“You’re more than just a friend, Astrid. You need to remind me sometimes that I don’t always get to bully you into getting my way.” He sighed. “Do you want me to take you home?”
He looked at her with a gentleness she wished she could bottle. She had seen her dad look at her mom that way before but had never really thought about how it felt when someone looked at you like that. Moving his hands to cup her cheeks, he gently rubbed his thumbs under her eyes, wiping away the few tears that remained.
“You’re so confusing, Parker. You say you just want to be friends, but then you say something like that.” Astrid pulled away from him and walked into the bathroom. What was she thinking? Maybe she should just pass him a note asking if he liked her, like in elementary school. It would be just as ridiculous as what had just come out of his mouth.
Taking a quick shower, she wrapped the towel around her before gathering up her stinky clothes. Parker was sitting on the couch staring at the television when she walked out of the bathroom.
“Here. I’ll throw them in the washer with the rest of it,” he said, standing. Taking her clothes, he sighed. “Then I’m going to grab a quick shower,” he said, turning toward the back of the apartment to take her clothes to the laundry room.
So now he was back to the Parker that didn’t want to get too close. Her heart couldn’t handle the roller coaster anymore. He had repeatedly reminded her that they were just friends. Well, this time she had received the message loud and clear. He would be relegated to being just her boss. Then there would be no more confusion.
Pulling on one of his T-shirts and a pair of Liam’s athletic shorts he had left for her on Parker’s dresser, she climbed into the bed. Closing her eyes tight, she hoped the whole idea of “if I can’t see him, he can’t see me” would work. There was nothing left she wanted to hear tonight.
She was almost asleep when she heard the bedroom door open. She assumed if she breathed slowly, he would think she was already asleep and ignore her while he hunted for clothes. She was shocked when he climbed on the bed and straddled her hips.
“Let’s talk about what you said before running for the bathroom,” Parker announced.
Wiggling out from under him, she sat against the headboard. She turned on the light to find him in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. She crossed her arms over her breasts when she felt her nipples push into hard points under his T-shirt. Stupid body with its lack of shame.
“I’m sorry I’m so confusing,” he said. “Fuck, I confuse myself most of the time.”
“Parker.” She didn’t want to hear the rest of what he had to say. There were only so many times a person could listen to a “friends” speech.
“Let me finish.” Crawling backward, he pulled her back down. He pinned her hips to the bed under his powerful thighs this time.
“If I was looking to start a relationship with anyone, it would be you. Fuck, look at you,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “You’re sweet, funny, and smart as hell. I don’t think you’re scared of anything, including me when I’m grumpy.”
“It’s not easy,” Astrid said with a snort, not meeting his eyes. He couldn’t do this. He was too beautiful and he was on top of her with very little between them.
They were friends, damnit. She had just made the decision just a few minutes ago. How could her body change its tune so quickly? Right, he was still beautiful, practically naked and on top.
Gently pulling her chin over until her eyes met his, he looked at her intently.
“I know it’s not,” he said as if that fixed everything. “On top of all that, you have this fucking sexy body,” Parker said. Had she heard that right? It was possible that her now raging hormones were blocking her eardrums. Was he even looking at her?
“Now I know you’re lying,” she blurted. “I’m perpetually twenty pounds overweight.”
“Where? All I see are soft curves. I had to do this”—he made aVwith his first two fingers pointing at his eyes then at her—“to at least half the bar tonight to warn them off. Do you know how many times I’ve jacked off to that snow bunny picture from last semester?”
“Thank you?” she whispered. Sam had convinced them to take pictures in the snow in their swimsuits last winter. She had failed to tell Astrid that she would be sending several to Parker. She had avoided the bar for months after finding out.
“Sweetheart,” he said, his fingers brushing her lips. “If I didn’t think it would start an avalanche of trouble, I would start here.” He ran a finger along her neck and over her collarbone. “Kiss all the way down.” His finger continued its journey between her breasts, down her stomach, and ended with his knuckle lightly grazing over her shorts. “Until I ended up about here.”
“But I don’t want to be a summer thing that you regret in September,” he said, his voice losing the gravelly timbre from a second ago. Astrid could still feel every inch of where he had touched her body. Goose bumps rose on her skin where his finger traced.
“I won’t regret anything that happens this summer,” she whispered, feeling the ache build low in her core. Parker just stood and pulled the covers back over her before walking to the bedroom door.
