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“Yeah, when I thought it would be easy,” I hissed. “But we’ve just spent the last ten minutes arguing about the best way to help her, and in the meantime, she’s probably sitting out there thinking I’m the worst friend in the world!”
“Then stop talking to me and man up,” he retorted. “Get out there and wrap your arms around her and let her cry on your shoulder. Yeah, it’s gonna suck, but you’ll be closer to getting head that way than if you sit in here arguing with me.”
Fuck, he was right. “Fine, I’ll do it.”
He clasped me on the shoulders and stared intently into my eyes. “This is just another mission. You’ve got this. Just keep your eyes on the prize.”
I took a deep breath and nodded, then turned to leave. Snapping my fingers, I backtracked. “Do you think I could have my gun?”
“For consoling her?”
“It would feel more like a mission.”
He stabbed his finger in the direction of the living room. “Go!”
“Geez, alright,” I grumbled, heading into the other room. But when I walked into the room, she was already passed out in my chair.
Huh, I didn’t think of just staying away and letting her grieve on her own. Mission accomplished, and I didn’t even have to do a single thing.
I grinned to myself, pretty pleased that I handled the situation so seamlessly.
“What are you smiling about?” Brock whispered, walking up behind me. His eyes darted to Sleeping Beauty, then back to me. He shook his head slightly.
“What? It’s taken care of and I didn’t have to do a thing.”
“You’re such an idiot. Now you’re going to have to deal with it in the morning.”
I turned back to the woman passed out in my chair and sighed. Why couldn’t this just be easy?
I wokethe same way I did the first time Laura was in my bed—with her wrapped around my body. This time, she wasn’t awake. Her hair was splayed over my chest, tickling my nose as a few hairs brushed up against my face every time I inhaled. It was annoying as fuck, but adorable as hell.
So was the way her arm was draped over my stomach. I loved the feel of her holding me so tightly, but it was hell on my cock. He didn’t realize that we had to play nicely. To him, this was nothing more than an invitation for a roll in the sack.
Down, boy.I internally chastised my own dick, hoping it would help in some way.
It didn’t.
When I carried her upstairs last night, she snuggled into my body, moaning as she pressed her face into my neck. I could imagine what it would be like if she was mine, and this was a nightly thing for us. But as soon as she woke up, we’d go back to reality where I was just the guy she met and she was just the woman I wanted in my bed.
I carefully untangled myself from her arms, moving so slowly that I wasn’t actually sure I would make it out of the bed this century. But she didn’t wake as I laid her arm down on the bed and tiptoed across the room to the bathroom. Once inside, I released the breath I’d been holding and scrubbed the sleep from my face.
I had to get to work. That would take my mind off things and make it easier to cope with having her in my space when I got home tonight. After a quick shower, I pulled on my boxers, but decided not to risk it by staying to get dressed the rest of the way. With my jeans, shirt, and socks draped over my arm, I crept toward the door, wincing when the board creaked. I was going to kill whoever built this house.It was new and shouldn’t be making so much noise after such a short time.
I slowly closed the door and very carefully turned the knob, pulling it closed inch by inch until it finally made contact with the doorjamb. I slowly released the knob, letting it click into place. Releasing a sigh of relief, I turned, nearly jumping out of my skin when I saw Brock standing across the hall with his arms crossed over his chest, grinning at me like an idiot.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Oh, just enjoying the show,” he smirked. “Why are you creeping around the house in your underwear?”
“I didn’t want to wake her,” I whispered.
“Right. You mean, you didn’t want her to wake up and actually talk to her about last night.”
“Would you?”
Without waiting for an answer, I made my way downstairs, being sure to step only on the balls of my feet. I was almost home free when I heard Brock clomp down the stairs, sounding like a damn T-Rex. That fucker was trying to rile me up.
I glared at him as he took the last step, his eyes dancing with humor. “Oh, sorry. Was I being too loud?”