“Your loss,” he grins, then stuffs the chip in his mouth, licking his lips. Fuck, those lips. They’re sinful as hell. “Don’t you think it’s hilarious that we have the same car?” he says as he proceeds to lick his fingers, which I desperately try to ignore.
“Very.” I grip the steering wheel, my palms clammy. I don’t know why I’m so fucking nervous. We’re just going to my sister’s house. Wes and I are just friends.Friends who blow and rub up against each other every chance they get.
“So what kinda snacks do you like since you don’t eat chips?”
“Uhm… I’m not really a snack person, I guess.”
He gapes at me, clutching his chest. “Such a red flag, man. I don’t know if we can be besties anymore.” He pretends to wipe his eyes and sniffles. “Well, I guess it was good while it lasted…”
I can’t help smiling at his antics. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Pft, so you keep saying. Please, youloooveme.”
My chest tightens. I know he’s just kidding, but things are changing quickly between us. If it were just sex, we wouldn’t be spending this much time together, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have invited him to my sister’s house. The lines are starting to blur, and I’m not sure how to feel about it.
I try to focus on the road. The traffic is getting denser as we approach Salem. Wes puts some music on and starts tapping his hands against his thighs. Thighs that are littered with my marks. Shit, I don’t know what it is about him. He pulls out the possessiveness in me. I can’t remember the last time I’ve wanted something as much as I want him.
“So, what’ll it take to win your sister over?”
“Win her over?”
“Yeah, I mean if she’s just half as grumpy as you were in the beginning, I’m gonna have to bring out the big guns.” He flashes me a toothy grin.
“Janie’s nothing like me. She got all the sunshine genes.”
“Oh, yeah?”
I nod. Janelle and I are like night and day, but I love her to bits. She saved me.
“Huh.”
“What?”
“I’m just trying to envision a female version of you. Is she hot?”
“She’s married! With kids!” Jealousy hits me out of nowhere. I bite the inside of my cheek. I know he’s just kidding, but I still don’t like it. I don’t like the idea of Wes being with anyone else. Not as long as he’s with me.
He bumps my shoulder with his, looking serious, no trademark smirk on his face. “I’m just kidding. You know that, right?” He reaches for my hand across the console, then tangles his fingers through mine. Calm washes over me instantly. His voice is soft and genuine when he continues. “I know we haven’t spoken about this, but I just want you to know that I’m not gonna be with anyone else while I’m with you.”
With you.
I swallow, nodding.
“I wouldn’t do that. I, uhm… I like being with you.”
My heart starts pounding like crazy. His hand is warm against mine, and I want to kiss him so badly. “I like being with you too,” I admit, and I’m rewarded with the biggest smile.
“Yeah?”
I nod, focusing on the traffic.
We reach Hillsboro, and as I turn down the road to the residential area where my sister lives, it all comes back to me. The time I spent in her guest bedroom. How broken I was when I first moved in. How far I’ve come since, and how much my life has changed.
I pull up in front of the small bungalow, and the outside is already decorated for Halloween. Large cobwebs cover the treesand bushes, and a huge spider hangs from the front door. A skeleton and a zombie sit in two chairs on the front porch, and there are jack-o’-lanterns on each side of the door.
“This is cute!” Wes says, his eyes wide with excitement.
“Yeah, they go all in.”
