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Licking her lips, Sarah winked at me. “You felt like an expert.”

We laughed together as she brought her head back to my chest. Somehow, it had gotten dark outside. As our bodies settled together, my eyes grew heavy. When they would stay open, I caught glimpses of Sarah drifting to sleep. Her body twitched slightly as her limbs grew heavy.

And I followed close behind, falling asleep in Sarah Greenwood’s bed.

17

SARAH

I couldn’t besure what Bri did to make me sleep well past sunrise, but by the time my eyes peeled open the next morning, it was well past nine. The birds chirped outside, and the weekend lawnmowers were already chugging along.

I sighed as I turned over, expecting to find Bri next to me. But she wasn’t.

My forehead wrinkled as I peeked over the edge of the bed, expecting to find a pile of her clothes. But they were gone.

I rolled back to my side of the bed, where my phone sat on the nightstand. It had gotten plugged in at some point in the night. But there was no text from Bri waiting on my lockscreen.

Shit. I scared her off.I rubbed my face, trying to wake up.

I stumbled out of bed and threw on an oversized t-shirt that lay rumpled at the foot of the bed. When I threw it over my head and onto my body, a waft of Bri’s scent swallowed me. It was sweaty, earthy, and it made my center throb.

An excited smile took over my face. She couldn’t have left without her shirt.

I grabbed a pair of simple cotton underwear from the drawer and made a note to buy myself something sexier soon.

As I quickly made the bed, flashes of the night before came back to me. Bri’s hands on my body, her lips on mine, her moans of pleasure.I really hope this wasn’t a mistake.I pulled the duvet over the top of the mattress.

Shaking my head, I tried to get the thought out of my mind. I hadn’t planned to cross our friendship line quite like that. But I couldn’t help but think about Jason’s advice: sometimes, you just have to rip the bandaid off.

I made my way downstairs, knowing that Bri was somewhere in my house. As I sauntered through the long hallway, my brow furrowed. It looked less cluttered than I remembered last night.

Maybe I had done a better job preparing for my guest than I remembered. Trying not to think about it too hard, I kept moving. As soon as I hit the landing at the top of the stairs, I could hear a sizzling pan and some soft music.

A smile crept onto my cheeks as I descended the staircase. It took everything in me to keep from running into the kitchen to see what Bri was up to. Instead, I took a deep breath and slowly strolled toward the kitchen.

Play it cool, Sarah,I reminded myself, fixing my face as I turned the corner. But met by Bri’s beaming smile and the smell of frying bacon, the small smile I had suppressed came back in full force.

Bri looked up from the dishes she was setting on the drying rack and grinned at me. “Hi, darlin’.” Her slight country twang came out stronger than usual.

“Hi.” I scanned the house, looking toward the living room where a folded blanket draped over the back of the couch and the kids' toys were neatly put away into the coordinated buckets. “Did you do all of that?”

Nodding, Bri set her final clean dish on the rack and shut off the water. “I did.” She grabbed a hand towel from the stoveand dried her hands, the straining veins drawing my eyes to her strong, calloused fingers.

“You didn’t need to do that.” I shook my head at her, warmth growing on my cheeks.

Looking me up and down, Bri turned to face the stove and shrugged. “You deserved it.”

As the shock of her cleaning half my house set in, my eyes were drawn to her muscular back, which strained against the white tank top she wore. She didn’t bother putting a bra underneath, letting the deep pink skin of her nipples shade the white fabric.

The thought alone sent a jolt of excitement through my tired body.

Bri turned off the stove, plating the bacon strips she had fried up. “I hope you don’t mind about the cleaning. I don’t want to be invasive, but it just seemed like a lot to keep track of.”

Taking a seat on a stool, I laughed. “Of course I don’t mind. I just feel bad.”

Smirking, Bri set down the plate and came around the island and looked down at me. She put her body between my legs, making the tired muscles move for her. Bringing her fingers to my chin, she directed my eyes to hers. “I don’t want you to ever feel bad around me. You’re juggling a lot, and you deserve some relief.”

I sighed. A part of me knew she was right, that I needed to let someone help. But I had just reconnected with Bri, and I still wasn’t sure what the night before meant for us going forward.