“There, there.” She pats my shoulder. “It’s a pretty nice body.”
I stand with my hands around her ankles. “A compliment? From you? You must be drunk.”
Her chin is on my shoulder, her warm, slight weight a comfort against my back. “Don’t tell my boss,” she whispers.
I laugh again, feeling lighter than air, as I click the button that makes the car doors descend and lock. “I hear he’s a real jerk.”
“No. He’s amazing.”
My heart thuds at her words. “Tell me more,” I say huskily. This is my favorite thing.
The only time I don’t feel selfish.
“Fishing,” she chides, but then she says, “Generous.” My heart thuds again. “Kind. A tad too tall.”
Just rightis what she means. Katie can’t help but tease me.
She sighs. “Strong arms. Good at carrying drunk bodyguards home.”
“Always.”
She presses her cheek between my shoulder blades. “Tristan,” she whispers. “I can feel your heartbeat.”
Hopefully she doesn’t read what it’s telling her. That I’m affected by her closeness. That I was affected on the dance floor too. That I don’t know where to put these unwelcome feelings.
I adjust my grip on her slender ankles as we round the side of the main house and the security center comes into view.
“Thank you, heart,” she whispers. “For taking my best friend through each day.”
“I take it back. You’re not drunk. You’re wasted.”
She giggles and toys with the ends of my hair. “Drunk enough to give him my number.”
All the warmth I was feeling rushes out of me. “Good,” I tell her. “That’s good.”
“Are you proud of me?” She yawns.
“So proud.” I mount the steps to her apartment. I’ve carried her up here a hundred times, and normally, I let her down outside of her door and I don’t go inside. But tonight, I enter the code and duck through the door with her on my back, then set her down in the kitchen.
Her apartment is small. I remember the first time I saw it. My first reaction was to force her to move. She scowled at me and told me I’d have to carry her out of the apartment first. And thus, a true friendship was born. I tease her, she threatens me with bodily harm. She snort-laughs at my jokes and bullies me into running with her in the mornings, and we exchange alarmed glances during family meetings when Whit wants to do something stupid.Whenever I look for her, she’s already looking at me. Whit always had Sienna. Aiden had Dad, and to a lesser extent, me, but I’ve never had anyone who was mine and mine alone. And then Katie came along. She smiles her best smiles for me and laughs her biggest laughs, and against all odds, she seems to like me better than anyone else. I foist things on her, like raises and clothes and a safer car, and she secretly enjoys them, and I secretly watch. It works for us.
Which is why I really can’t mess this up.
“We’re not being dumb, right?” The words pop out.
Katie turns from where she’s filling water glasses. “Dumb?” She tips her head before she passes me a glass.
I watch her drink, her pouty pink lips closing on the glass, her chocolate eyesglinting under heavy lids.
I shove a hand through my hair. “You know, practicing and stuff. I’m your friend—I don’t want—fuck.” I take a long gulp of cold water to stop the flow of nonsense. “This is not coming out well.”
“Oh.” Her brows tug together. “No, I don’t think so. I mean, it doesn’t, um, change anything. But if you’re uncomfortable—”
“No. No, I’m not,” I rush to say. “And you’re not.”
“No.” She shakes her head and takes another sip of water. “Tonight was…nice.”
She leans back against the counter.
