Page 95 of Chasing the Dream

He chuckled. “You’re exaggerating.”

“No, I’m not. Don’t you remember that time her friend Alicia asked you to homecoming? Maria never spoke to her again.”

“That was different. She wasn’t you. Maria loves you.”

What about you? How do you feel about me? “She might not if she knew I was doing the horizontal mambo with her brother!”

“We’re not kids anymore. She’ll just have to accept it.”

“But what if she doesn’t?”

“There you go with your what-ifs again.”

“I’m sorry, but Maria is my best friend. I would hate to ruin our friendship over this.”

He scowled. “What about us? Don’t we count for anything?”

She eyed him curiously. “You’re the one that said this was just sex, remember?” She’d never really thought of it that way and had been hoping that he felt differently now too.

“I remember, and that hasn’t changed. I’m just tired of sneaking around.”

She deflated and immediately diverted her attention out the window. Obviously, she was still living in a dream world, one where her teenage crush had fallen madly in love with her and wanted to be with her forever. It was a dream that never died, yet it never came to fruition either. Just when she’d thought things had changed…

“Morgan? Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” But it was a lie. The more time they spent together, the harder it was to separate the physical from the emotional. For her, the two went together, but not for him.

She couldn’t really be mad at him, though, because he’d been honest with her from the start and she’d agreed to this arrangement. As difficult as it was to keep her emotions out of it, the choice was simple: either continue the charade or not be with him at all. After everything they’d shared, the second option was unfathomable. Besides, her time in Arizona was running out, and soon she wouldn’t have a choice.

Chapter 26

Gabe went through the rest of the day feeling as though he’d failed at something, but he wasn’t sure what it was. His suggestion that he and Morgan reveal their relationship to Maria hadn’t gone over well, and he was still trying to figure out why. He thought Morgan might be relieved or even happy, but she’d had the opposite reaction. He understood that she was worried about losing her friendship with Maria, but he’d hoped that their relationship might have risen in importance. It certainly had for him. In fact, he thought about her constantly, and every decision he made, he did so with her in mind. Case in point, their double date with Maria and Matt. He hadn’t wanted to go at first, but he’d changed his mind because it had seemed important to Morgan. Even though he’d refused to call it a date, that was exactly how he was thinking of it now. Whatever mistake he’d made earlier, he hoped to rectify it tonight.

He poked his head in her office. “Ready to go?”

“Mm-hmm.” She closed her laptop, took her purse out of a drawer, and stood up.

He hadn’t seen her since the morning, and her beauty struck him anew. She looked like she’d freshened up. Her hair shone like it had just been brushed, and her lips had a coat of gloss on them.

“All set,” she said.

“Not quite.” He swung the door shut behind him and stalked toward her.

“What are you doing?”

He took her purse out of her hands and set it on the desk. “Kissing you.”

“You can’t…lip gloss.”

“Don’t care.”

He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

“We’ll be late.”

“Only need a minute.”

He bent his head down and covered her glossy mouth with his. She seemed hesitant at first, but then she parted her lips and let out a moan. He slipped his tongue inside, and hers darted out to greet it. The kiss lasted much longer than a minute, and then he reluctantly pulled back.