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It must’ve helped a little too much, because she was in and out of wakefulness throughout the movie. More than once, she caught herself falling asleep.
And then eventually the credits were playing. Only the words were tilted, and there was something kind of soft, but kind of hard, beneath her cheek.
She always did this. Fell asleep on James’s shoulder during movies. It was like her party trick that everyone loved to tease her about.
Wait. This wasn’t James’s shoulder she was leaning on. It was Eric’s.
Oh crap.
With her heart tripping and her cheeks warming, she jerked away from him and sat up.
“Well, that’s embarrassing. I’m so sorry about that.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes.
“No worries. I’ve got a pillow vibe about me. I can’t tell you how many times the guys fell asleep on me during a Fast and the Furious movie.”
She playfully punched his arm. “Stop it. They did not.”
“Totally did.”
“Anyway.” With a quick shake of her head, she murmured, “I should’ve warned you that I have a tendency to fall asleep during movies.”
“No problem.” Eric shoved a hand through his hair, but his smile seemed a bit tight. “Sounds like you’ve had a long week and you’re probably exhausted.”
“I am.”
Bless him for giving her an out. She rose and grabbed both of their bowls, heading to the kitchen. By the time she turned around, he was on his feet with his keys in hand.
“I should head out. Do you want me to drive you to your car?” He hesitated. “Or I could come back in the morning—”
“No, it’s fine. I can ask my dad to drive me over to grab it in the morning.” She followed him to the front door. “Thanks again for tonight. Maybe I was overreacting, but—”
“You weren’t. That guy was a total creeper. He gave me a bad feeling too, and I was only around him for a few minutes.” He paused and then turned to face her. “Please be careful. You may even want to go talk to someone at the school.”
“Thank you.” He was so sweet. “I might do that.”
Touched by his concern, she stepped forward to give him a big hug. He stiffened, patted her back almost awkwardly, then opened the door and slipped out.
“Lock up behind me,” he called back hoarsely.
She closed the door and turned the bolt, before pressing a hand to her burning cheeks.
“Oh my god.”
When she’d been hugging Eric, she’d realized it wasn’t just his chest that was hard. It was another blatant part of him.
No wonder he’d rushed out of her place like it was on fire.
She pressed her palm to her forehead. “And now I die of embarrassment.”
Or... something else?
Because there was another reaction coming to life inside her that left her warm and tingly on a more primal level.
“No way,” she whispered. “I will not be excited that I fell asleep on my ex’s best friend, and he got a hard-on.”
Because that was entirely too screwed up to analyze.
*
