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Abe waggled his brows as he crashed into my personal space, walking me backward until I was pressed against my truck. My thin shirt wasn’t much protection against the sun-warmed metal at my back and the scorching hot man pressed against my front. “Yes.”
I bit my bottom lip to keep from taking him up on the offer I saw in his blue eyes while I practically melted into a puddle on the asphalt. If Abe felt this good pressed against me with clothes on, how incendiary would he be naked? I yearned to throw caution to the wind and find out, but we were at an awful impasse I didn’t know how to navigate.
A few months ago, Abe, who oversaw the Explorer academy for the entire state of Georgia, had attended the open house SPD had held for our first class of cadets. During the reception, Abe had leaned in close and asked for a private word.
I’d led him into an empty office and sat on the edge of the desk. Abe had surprised me by placing his hands on my thighs and pushing them apart so he could step into the space. He’d cupped my face and stared into my eyes. “I love you, Lio.”
My pulse had bucked and galloped like a runaway horse, but I’d reined in my emotions. I knew Abe loved me because he often told me so. I was the most important person in his life.
“I love you too.”
Abe had shaken his head. “I’min lovewith you. I think a part of me has been in love with you since you hit that grand slam off me when we were kids. I think you’re in love with me too.”
“I am,” I’d admitted without hesitation. “Other than Alex, you’re the most important person in my life.”
Abe had caressed my bottom lip with his thumb. “I can’t stop thinking about our almost kiss five years ago.”
“The one where you pretended not to read my intentions and pulled away?”
“That obvious, huh?” Abe had asked with a wince.
I’d chuckled to release the nervous tension building inside me. “Like a neon sign. Why’d you do it?”
“I thought you were drunk, lonely, and on the rebound after things didn’t work out with Calder, the sexy banker guy. I couldn’t risk our friendship if I gave in to my desire.”
I’d sighed heavily and leaned my forehead against Abe’s. His lips had been mine for the taking and there was no denying the need vibrating through his strong body. I pulled back and stared into his baby blues. “I was tipsy and lonely, but you made a serious miscalculation.” Abe quirked a brow to encourage me to continue. “Things didn’t work out with Calder because I wanted you, idiot.” He had been my first attempt at a serious relationship after my divorce from Alyssa two years prior. The relationship hadn’t stood a chance because Calder wasn’t Abe, so after we ended our relationship on friendly terms, I made a tipsy pass at my best friend.
“How was I supposed to know?” Abe had said. “You never said anything or hinted at an attraction to me.”
“I was going to let the kiss do the talking for me.”
Abe puffed out his cheeks and slowly exhaled. “Damn, I really am an idiot.”
“Or maybe you made the right choice.” That had made Abe scowl, so I explained. “Loving someone isn’t always enough.”
Disappointment had flashed in his blue eyes, but there was no missing the tenderness and yearning in his voice when he said, “I don’t believe that for a second, and neither do you. I won’t push you, though. The ball is in your court. We don’t need to have a lengthy discussion about how wrong you are. All you have to do is just say when, Lio.”
“How magnanimous of you,” I’d teased to soften the edges of the disappointment riding us both.
Abe had mostly stayed true to his word over the following two months, but innuendo and teasing touches had creeped into our conversations as his patience wore thin. I knew a deeper conversation was on the horizon, and I wasn’t looking forward to it.
“I’d love your help,” I said.
Abe followed me back to my place where we put on masks to keep from inhaling the fine dust particles. I only had one electric sander, and I gave it to Abe while I used the old-fashioned block wrapped with sandpaper. He switched tools with me midway through the room and we knocked out the task much quicker than if I’d attempted it on my own.
I set the electric sander on the worktable in the middle of the space and faced Abe. He had drywall dust in his hair and on his clothes. He raised his hands and ran them through his hair, shaking the fine powder loose and putting his impressive biceps on display. I wanted to sink my teeth into Abe’s arms, sweat and dust be damned. His t-shirt was damp and clinging to his broad chest. Hard nipples pressed against the fabric, and I so badly wanted to cross the room and work them with my teeth and tongue.
“Eyes up here, buddy,” Abe said.
I jerked my gaze up and nearly laughed at his indignant expression above his mask. “My apologies. Let me buy you a beer to make up for it.”
Abe waggled his brows. “Plying me with booze, huh?”
I pinned him with a dark glare. “Because that worked so well for me the last time I tried to kiss you.”
Not only had Abe pulled away before my lips could land, but he disappeared from my life for a month. No phone calls or texts. No dropping by on a random evening to hang out and watch a game. He was just gone, and it was the loneliest time in my life until he reappeared on my doorstep with a sack of food in one hand, a six pack of beer in the other, and a sheepish grin on his face. I had a choice to make: I could open the door and pretend nothing happened so I could get my friend back, or force a conversation that could’ve ended our friendship for good. I chose door number one and buried my feelings. Until recently, I convinced myself that friendship with Abe was enough. Now, I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if I just said when.
“Touché,” Abe said.
