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Danica laughs. “Are you drunk?”
“Pleasantly buzzed,” I correct her but I’m sure I’ll be drunk before the night is through. I will most definitely be taking an Uber home.
“I said Travis’s practice starts at ten. I can text you the address.”
I consider offering to pick her up but that seems too forward for some reason. Despite the fact I’ve pretty much pushed myself on her twice now to help out without giving her an opportunity to decline, picking her up at her house to take her somewhere feels too personal.
“Sounds great,” I reply. “I’ll meet you there.”
“Here’s the lot,” Danica says and we walk past an attendant who’s asleep in his booth.
At her car, she fishes in her purse for keys and I’m surprised that when she has them in hand, she moves in for a hug. I’m startled and it takes me a moment to reciprocate. Her arms go around my neck, the keys in her hand jangling as she murmurs, “Happy birthday, Camden.”
A simple endearment to a friend and yet it sounds like more.
Or maybe that’s the beer.
Regardless, neither one of us withdraws from the embrace and I turn my head slightly so I can breathe in her shampoo.
Fuck… that smells good.
Too good.
She feels a little too nice in my arms and I have no right to be thinking those things.
I loosen my hold on her even though I’m reluctant to pull away. At first, Danica doesn’t take the opportunity to extricate herself, so we hold still a few seconds more.
Then slowly, we move apart. But it’s so fucking slow that my cheek grazes her temple and I feel the heat of her breath on my neck.
I dip my head for no reason at all and it puts us cheek to cheek as we continue to separate. Christ, only an inch separates the corners of our mouths and if I turned my head just that amount, my lips would touch hers.
We both freeze and I can feel the rise and fall of her chest even under her heavy coat, her breath wafting over me in the same rhythm.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I send up a secret prayer for strength and somehow manage to pull myself free of the hug.
Danica gives a tiny cough as she steps back, her gaze dropping to the ground. I shove my hands in my back pockets and look over to the attendant in the booth, merely to divert my attention somewhere else.
A slight giggle has my attention snapping back to Danica. I raise an eyebrow and she shakes her head as she puts her hand over her mouth, perhaps to shut down another laugh. Her eyes finally meet mine and they’re not full of recrimination, even though we came very close to kissing.
Instead, they’re alight with humor and I can’t help but grin at her.
Just like that, we’re back on even footing.
She unlocks her door. “Thanks again for the invite. I had a great time.”
“Me too. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Danica slides into her seat and I don’t move until she exits the lot and heads off down the street. Because it’s cold as fuck, I jog back to the bar.
Once inside, Bain hands me a fresh beer so no need to hunt down my old one. “Thanks, man.”
“Danica get out of here okay?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
Bain doesn’t say anything, merely stares at me with raised eyebrows as if he expects me to provide further details. It makes me hot under the collar and before I know it, I’m defending myself. “There’s nothing there, dude. I walked her to her car to make sure she’s safe.”
“Okay,” he says easily.
