AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am such a lightweight.” She drags her hands down her face. Her index finger gets caught on the imprints in her skin, and she groans again.
“Are you okay?”
She laughs, but it’s sad and husky. “My daughter canceled on me.”
My elbows rest on my knees, and I clasp my hands between them. “I’m sorry. I know you had big plans.
“A spa day.” She sniffles. “We’d cook her favorite meal together. Picnic at the park. Go hiking.”
“You can still do those things,” I suggest.
She scoffs.
“It won’t be the same,” I amend, “but you’d still have fun, I’m sure.”
“We were going to have a picnic and practice yoga on the back deck.” Sara flings her arms out, slumping against the chair. Her eyes are unfocused. “It’s warm enough, but it’s supposed to get brisk again on Monday. It’s probably the last time I will practice outdoors. Oh,” she says softly. “Zoe was going to be in one of my videos.”
I eye the wine. Did Sara really get drunk off of less than a bottle?
When I glance back, her eyes are closed. “Sara?”
“Shhh . . . .” She holds a finger up, her eyes slitting open while she aims for my mouth. It takes two tries, but then her finger presses against my lips with more force than necessary, digging them into my teeth.
Sara’s leaning out of the chair now, balancing herself between us and staring at my lips. Her finger is cold against my skin.
She sways back a bit, her head resting on the armrest and the pressure of her finger easing.
The tip of that finger traces my bottom lip, and my heart climbs in my chest.
“You have pretty lips.”
A laugh escapes, and Sara’s eyes widen as her finger touches the interior of my lip, the dampness preventing our skin from sliding apart as if we’re magnetized.
I still and watch Sara’s face. It mirrors the desire rushing through me. She’s mesmerized, a flush on her cheeks that has nothing to do with the alcohol or sleep.
But she is drunk.
And even if she wasn’t, it’s too complicated. I don’t know what she wants, but Sara doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’s looking for a quick fuck, which is my expertise.
She’s sparkles and happiness, and if things got awkward and I saw her dim, I’d hate myself.
When her finger lightly touches my teeth, I know I need to stop her.
I pull away, and her arm falls in the space between my body and her chair.
“Come on,” I say, rising to my feet. “I’ll help you to your room.”
Sara stands but immediately sways, and I wrap an arm around her waist to prevent her from sliding back down. She leans on me, her head fitting just right under my ear.
“Is it dinner time?” Sara asks, concerned.
“Not yet.”
“I mean my dinner time. Do you even eat dinner?”
She tilts her head to look up at me while I navigate her out of the room and to the stairs. Now that she’s moving, the gold flecks I noticed earlier are brighter. Maybe it’s because she’s more awake now, or maybe she’s just out of the shadowy corner of the room.
“I eat dinner. Just a lot later than you, so you've already gone to bed.”
