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I want and need her to see who I am past all her damn assumptions. Past all the town’s damn assumptions.
“Some kids want to be doctors and vets when they grow up. Or work at their parents' spice shop or motorcycle garage.” I added those last two because that’s what had been expected of me, and I know exactly where she ended up working.
She sucks in her lips, and her brows dip downward. She inhales a breath that rises her breasts through the white tank top under her floral kimono. It drives me wild inside.
“I wanted to travel the country on my bike. To visit all the places my dad’s biker friends talked about when they dropped in.” I don’t resist the urge to cup her face. My fingers slide over her cheek, and I draw her closer to me. Her breath hitches against my skin. “Let me be clear. I didn’t run away. I followed my dream.”
Her mouth parts ever so slightly. When her gaze drops, her eyelashes sweep across her silky smooth skin and the small sunspots below her eyes.
A few seconds tick by before her eyes meet mine again. “I’m happy you had the opportunity to follow your dream, Johnny. A lot of people don’t get that chance.”
“So am I. It was amazing being on the open road and sleeping under the stars.” I wish I could’ve taken her with me, but we’d both been too young. She’d needed to find herself as much as I’d needed to find myself.
Her fingers curl around my forearm. Soft, delicate, and caring. “I’m sorry about the other night. I shouldn’t have assumed anything about you. Being Billie’s friend put me smack dab in the center of your world. I realize half of what the town assumes isn’t true. I don’t know how you spent the last decade. For all I know, you’ve been traveling with a girlfriend this whole time.”
“I haven’t.” The declaration slips out.
“It’s not my business.”
“I wasn’t mad you assumed I sleep around.”
“Oh.”
“I was mad that you assumed that’s how I felt about the night at the lighthouse.”
“I don’t understand.”
I want to tell her I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head for over ten years, and she’s the reason I’m back. But it’s too forward, too quick.
“You weren’t just some girl I slept with. You were a friend, and we experimented. Likely when we shouldn’t have.” When her forehead wrinkles, I add, “I don’t regret it, but I don’t want to lose my friend over it either.” I take a step back and hold out my hand. “Friends?”
She eyes my hand, pressing her lips in a thin, tight line. Her own hands wring together in front of her. I want her to say no. I want her to tell me her feelings for me are deeper. That her crush didn’t end when I left. Because it sure as hell didn’t stop for me.
Finally, she takes a deep breath and slides her small, delicate hand into mine. “Friends.”
I try to keep my disappointment at bay. “With benefits?” I cock a grin.
“No.” Her word is harsh, but her smile is soft.
“Onetime thing. I got it.” Our hands remain hanging, clamped between us.
Unmoving.
Connected.
“Can I ask you a question?”
She nods.
“Are you still crushing on me?”
The flicker of desire in her eyes is all the answer I need. She likes me. She’s always liked me. I’m the one who took too long to see her.
She straightens and blinks the desire from her eyes. “We’re not in high school anymore. I don’t really think Icrushon anyone.”
“Alright, let me ask you this. Why are you still single?”
“Why are you?” she quips.
