Page 30 of Crossing the Line

I gestured toward the terrace behind the resort. There were little metal tables set up there with umbrellas providing shade. But Kelsie didn’t head for one of those. As we broke off from the rest of the group, she went to the railing surrounding the terrace, looking out at the beach while the wind whipped her blonde hair around her head.

I stood next to her, feeling the weight of the past few days pressing down on me. “Kels, tell me what I can do to make things right.”

Her eyes snapped to mine, and a thousand different emotions could be seen in their grey depths. “I don’t know what you’re asking. I told you this morning that we could move on. We’ll stay friends.”

“But it doesn’t feel like it,” I snapped, my hands tightened around the terrace railing until my knuckles turned white. “You’re not acting like my friend.”

She blinked slowly, frowning. “Of course, I am.”

“No,” I insisted, turning to her fully. I ran a hand through my hair as my frustration peaked. I felt like a pressure cooker on the verge of exploding. “You’re different. You didn’t save me a seat at dinner, and you invited others to our movie night.”

“Other friends.”

“It feels like you’re trying to put distance between us. Just like on the hike, when you kept stepping away from me.” Listed out like this, my complaints sounded petty and ridiculous, but that didn’t change the way they made me feel. “This isn’t us, Kels. We don’t act like this. You don’t even look at me the same way.”

“You mean with stars in my eyes?”

Something about the calmness of her question doused the flames of my anger like a bucket of cold water.

“That’s… that’s not what I meant. I just didn’t want things to change.”

Kelsie sighed, and something like pity came over her face. She reached out and took both of my hands in hers. The connection should have felt good. We’d touched casually all the time before. But this felt different. This felt like she was trying to comfort me.

“Things are going to change, Damien. It’s unavoidable because we’re still friends, but I’m no longer infatuated with you.”

Giving my fingers a squeeze, she pulled her hands away, and I curled my hands into fists. Her touch still seemed to buzz on my skin.

“Despite everything, I don’t want to lose our friendship either,” she continued. “And I’ll treat you just like I would any other friend. Leanne or Jess or even Ryan. If you think about it, you’ll realize that we were closer with each other than normal friends. The things you’re unhappy about were bound to happen because I’m not trying to be like that with you anymore. I’m happy to stay your friend, just like you wanted.”

There was nothing but earnest sincerity in her voice. She was trying to do what I’d asked for, trying to maintain a friendship that I never realized was deeper than a normal platonic relationship all along.

“Now, I’m going to go shower,” she said, giving me a small smile before turning away. I stood in place, watching her walk away and feeling like I’d lost something precious I didn’t even realize I had in the first place.

All I could think was that this wasn’t what I wanted at all.

Chapter Twelve: Kelsie

It was strange to think that one night with the man of my dreams could make such a mess of everything. I was distracted as I reached my room, thinking about how lost Damien looked when I left him on the terrace.

As if he wasn’t sure how to come to terms with our new reality.

I figured it would take time for him to accept it, but in the end, I had a terrible feeling that the friendship we had before was over. If it grew into something else, the kind of romantic relationship I’d hoped for, that would be fine. More than fine, really. I’d be happy.

But things didn’t work out that way.

Stepping into my bathroom, I stripped out of my clothes as I thought about that night. My feelings aside, it was a shame that he regretted it because the sex was phenomenal.

Even as I stepped into the shower, the memories lingered. I’d mostly avoided thinking about it because it hurt too much, but today, I couldn’t seem to push the memories away. I wasn’t sure if that was a sign that I was finally starting to heal from the pain of rejection or if I was just too hot for Damien to keep my mind from going there.

All I knew was that the images playing on repeat behind my closed eyelids made heat spread through my body. My core pulsed with need, and my nipples hardened into sensitive points.

Once I’d washed my body and hair, I leaned against the wall of the shower, my mind still lost to the erotic things we did. The water trailing over my skin reminded me of the tingling I felt when he touched me. Adrenaline rushed through me at the vivid memory, and my breathing grew heavy.

Bringing a hand to my breast, I tweaked the nipple while I trailed the other one down my stomach. I thought about the way Damien’s warm breath felt on my neck just before he nipped my skin and the feeling of his cock sliding through my folds before he sank deep. So much torturous anticipation, but it paid off.

When I found my clit, lust rushed through me, and I rubbed it in a tight circle with my fingers. Pleasure spiked, and I remembered the way Damien sounded when he came, the way his breath caught at the exact moment I felt him filling me.

“Damien,” I moaned his name, and the tiled shower seemed to echo it back to me. I kneaded my breast and rubbed my clit faster.