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Chapter Seventeen
Thorn
I pace on the pavement outside her house, unsure. Should I walk up to the door and ring the bell? It seems such a simple, easy thing to do, but I can’t bring myself to actually do it somehow.
A quick glance at my watch tells me I’ve been dicking around for nearly twenty minutes. If I don’t ring the bell soon, someone will call the police on me. Decided, I stride up the steps to her front door, ring said bell, and wait.
I wait a few minutes, then ring again. Maybe she’s not home. It’s not too late, and it isn’t a ‘school’ night, so maybe she’s out. I give the bell one last ring for luck and then turn around to head back to my car.
My foot just hits the bottom step when I hear the door behind me swing open and Raven’s breathless voice calls out “Thorn?” in question. I hesitate, unsure. But it’s too late to back out now. Instead, I spin to face her and head back up the steps.
“Sorry, I was in the shower,” she tells me. “Were you waiting long?”
And that’s when I notice she’s in a towel. Well, if you can call it that. It looks more like she’s grabbed a face cloth and is desperately trying to cover her naked body behind the door and the tiniest scrap of material I’ve ever seen. Droplets cover every inch of her skin, and her hair is a waterfall down her back. Fuck. My dick twitches and jerks to life. I silently groan because his timing sucks.
“Do you want to come in?” Raven asks me, frowning, and I realise I didn’t reply to the last question she asked. Shit. Have I lost the power of speech? I nod in reply. “Okay, come in. Go through to the lounge and I’ll be with you in ten. I think I still have conditioner in my hair.”
As she says this, she reaches up to run a hand over her hair, and the towel slips significantly. She races to correct it and hastily shuts the door.
“Be right back,” she cries, bolting for the stairs.
I enjoy the flash of her bare ass as she goes, but it does nothing to stop my hardening erection. Fuck.
The world’s fastest ten minutes later, she’s back with me, dressed in ass-hugging yoga pants and a t-shirt. No bra, I can’t help but notice. Her damp hair is now pulled forwards over her shoulders and has left wet patches on her shirt. Oh dear god she’s trying to kill me.
And still I don’t speak.
What. The. Fuck. You fucking idiot! Say something!
“Coke.” Ah shit.
“Huh?”
“You were gonna ask me what I wanted to drink. Coke. Please.” The manners are an afterthought. Wordlessly she disappears again, this time into the kitchen, and I smack myself on the forehead. Get it together.
“Here,” she says softly a moment later, holding out the can.
“Thank you. Sorry.”
“Don’t mention it,” she smiles. After a beat, she adds, “I’m happy to see you Thorn, but did you want something?”
“Yes. No…ah crap, I don’t know.” I shake my head and take a drink, stalling.
“Let’s sit,” she offers kindly.
“Am I going to disturb Phoenix by being here? Do I need to go?”
“No, she’s on her sleepover at the childminder’s tonight. It’s not her day to go but her daughter is having a party and Phoenix didn’t want to miss out. It feels like she’s three going on thirteen sometimes,” she laughs. I love the way her face lights up when she talks about Phoenix.
“I wanted to talk,” I tell her.
“I would never have guessed,” she teases, but when I don’t crack a smile, her face falls.
“Aren’t you sorry? At all?” I can’t help but blurt the question out, right into her face with the force of a ton of bricks. She actually shrinks back as though hit by them.
“Thorn…” She looks uncomfortable.
I drain my drink nervously, and ask for another. She eyes me warily, sighs, then grabs my glass and gets up. This time I follow her. On my feet, I feel more confident, more in control.
