Page 12 of Accidentally Falling For My Best Friend (Chicago Awakenings #2)

PARKER

June

“ C an I have another glass?” Aspen asks as we all move from the couch to the dining room table to snack on the low-carb charcuterie spread that’s there.

We don’t completely avoid carbs, but snacks without them make it easier to keep my blood sugar levels stable, so they tend to be our default.

I detour to the kitchen and grab a second bottle of wine from our built-in wine fridge.

The Werewolves game was out of town tonight, so the girls are at our place and we all watched them lose from the comfort of our living room.

“We should play a drinking game!” Sage suggests, clapping at her own idea.

“What do you have in mind?” Oakley asks, sitting up straighter at the suggestion.

Competitive little shit. I chuckle as I search for the wine opener.

Oakley loves any type of game that he can win, but I don’t think drinking games have a clear “winner” and he isn’t usually a big drinker.

I don’t think he’s had more than a glass all night .

“Truth or Dare!” Sage aims a conspiratorial grin at Aspen who nods eagerly at the idea.

I open the bottle of wine and bring it back into the room, refilling everyone’s glasses before I sit down and ask, “Who goes first?”

“Me,” Aspen volunteers, smiling sweetly up at me. “Parker, you can ask,” she adds.

“Okay, Aspen, truth or dare?” I ask dramatically, playing along. I haven’t had much to drink, maybe one glass throughout the whole hockey game, but it’s easy for me to relax in our little group.

“Truth!” she answers quickly.

“Okay, um… What’s the best date you’ve ever been on?”

“Hmm, that’s a tough one,” she says, chewing on her lip as she looks to Sage, like she’ll know the answer.

“I would have to say when Sage surprised me with a trip to Paris,” she finally answers, grabbing her hand as she continues.

“We got to go to shows during Fashion Week and then have dinner in the Eiffel Tower overlooking the city at night with all of the lights twinkling and the most delicious champagne,” she adds with a dreamy tone.

I know she would have loved that experience, but I’m surprised that she’s referring to it as a date in front of Sage.

“Wow, that sounds amazing. Best friend dates are the best,” Oakley agrees.

Not what I was really going for when I asked.

I guess I should have known that wasn’t the best question for her, but I didn’t think it through.

With how she feels about Sage, anything they did would be more special than something she did with a boyfriend she didn’t actually care about, so I nod, pretending it was what I meant all along.

“That sounds like when Oakley surprised me with tickets to the premiere of one of the huge action, super-hero films that I love. We flew out and got to meet the whole cast and see the film before everyone else. It was unbelievable,” I tell the girls.

Aspen gives me a big smile. “That sounds perfect for you. Okay, my turn to ask. Oakley, truth, or dare?”

“Definitely dare,” he says, already sitting on the edge of his seat, ready to do whatever she requests.

Her smile grows. “Oakley, I dare you to kiss Parker in front of us,” she says, looking pleased with herself.

I freeze, grateful that I wasn’t taking a sip as she said that because I probably would have spit it back out. Did I just hear what I think I heard? Why would she want Oakley to kiss me? I told her that it’s never been like that between us.

“Is that something you’re into? Watching your boyfriend kiss someone else?” Oakley asks with a teasing tone.

“Maybe,” she answers, sharing another conspiratorial look with Sage.

“It’s not like you’ve never kissed before, we just want to watch,” Sage adds.

Wait.

Did she just say that we’ve already kissed? Why does she think that?

“But, it is like we’ve never kissed before,” I clarify.

“You two really expect us to believe that you’ve never fooled around?” Sage says with complete disbelief.

“Um, yes. Because it’s the truth?” I answer, meaning to sound confident, but it comes out like a question.

“Come on, not you too,” Oakley groans dramatically.

“I thought you two, of all people, wouldn’t buy into the whole ‘best friends who are that close and live together must be fucking’ thing that so many people give us shit about,” he says sounding exasperated as he throws his head back, even though he’s still smiling.

The girls exchange another look, almost like they feel guilty, probably about the assumption, before Sage turns to Oakley. “It’s not a bad thing, honey,” she assures him. “Aspen and I have kissed plenty of times,” she adds casually.

“Really?” he asks, perking up at that. I look at Aspen who is definitely avoiding my gaze.

Those kisses might not mean anything to Sage, but even if I didn’t know how Aspen really feels, the blush on her cheeks and her guilty expression make it clear to me that Aspen does not feel the same way.

Probably why she’s never mentioned that to me either.

We might be friends now and spend a lot of time together, but we haven’t had any deep discussions.

I’m not surprised that she hasn’t been completely open with me about their history.

“Sure. It’s not a big deal. Want us to show you?” Sage asks coyly.

“Okay,” Oak quickly agrees. I don’t think it’s my place to intervene here, even knowing what I do.

Maybe Aspen is wrong and Sage does want the excuse to kiss her?

I’m a bit curious to see for myself how one-sided her feelings truly are.

And what would I say anyway? Don’t kiss your best friend after you just insisted it wouldn’t mean anything because I know it would to her?

That would make me the worst fake boyfriend ever.

Sage stands up from her chair and sits right on Aspen’s lap. Then she tilts Aspen’s chin up with her hand and brings their lips together. It’s not a quick kiss, there’s obviously tongue involved and both girls seem to be pretty consumed by the moment, bringing their bodies closer together.

I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about watching my “girlfriend” kiss her best friend.

Should I pretend to be jealous, or should I make a comment that it’s hot or something?

I know some guys are into watching that, but it definitely isn’t doing anything for me sexually.

I don’t want to fuck up appearances if I should be commenting, though .

“Wow, you really went for it,” Oak says with a laugh, and it’s like his comment startles the girls apart.

They join in laughing and Sage looks at Oakley expectantly, teasing, “Your turn.”

I was so distracted by the girls kissing and the different layers of what that kiss meant to everyone in this room, that I completely forgot about the original dare.

After their display, I don’t know how I’m supposed to react.

Would protesting make it seem like I think kissing him would mean something?

“Am I supposed to go sit in his lap too?” Oakley jokes but the girls both nod seriously, so he stands with a defeated huff and walks over to my chair.

Instead of trying to sit sideways across my lap like Sage did, he pulls my chair out a little and fully straddles me. “Is this okay?” he asks softly.

I can’t say that I’ve ever wished we would be in this position, but I also don’t hate it.

I decide to stop overthinking and follow his lead.

Despite what the girls’ kiss might have meant to Aspen, kissing Oakley really would be meaningless for us, and if he wants to joke around and put on a show, I might as well go along with it instead of turning it into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

I rest my arms around him, gripping his hips so that he doesn’t fall off of me and laugh. “Yeah, why not.”

Then Oak mirrors Sage’s earlier move, cupping my jaw with his hand to tilt my face up toward him. He looks into my eyes for a moment, before bringing his mouth to mine.

His lips are so much softer than I would have expected, and the feeling of the stubble on his face, rubbing against my own as our mouths move, is pleasantly intriguing.

I let out a small gasp of surprise at the dual contrasting sensations and Oak takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth, exploring and tangling it with my own.

After a few moments, I realize that I’m kissing him back rather forcefully, meeting the movements of his mouth, battling for control. I also notice my grip has tightened on his hips, holding him firmly in place.

I don’t do anything to stop though.

This is unlike any kiss that I’ve ever experienced. I’ve honestly never been a huge fan of kissing—it was just something to check off a list of things to do with a girl I was dating before we had sex.

This though? This is not a line item.

I could do this for hours. I feel like my entire body is buzzing with pleasure.

Oakley moves his other hand into my hair and the feel of his fingers against my scalp is divine.

The way his lips glide against mine feels sacred.

He sucks my bottom lip between his own, following it with a slow little nip with his teeth.

Then he licks the sore spot, and I let out a soft moan.

I’m unconsciously shifting my hips now, trying to grind my achingly hard cock up into his ass, and I realize all at once what’s actually happening here—I’m grinding my very interested dick into my straight best friend while I basically fuck his mouth with my tongue.

Kissing has never been like this before.

I’ve never gone from zero to absolutely desperate from only a kiss.

What the actual fuck is happening right now?

I pull away with a gasp, lifting Oakley off of my lap quickly as I shift my position, hoping to hide the very obvious erection that is now fighting against the zipper of my pants. Seriously, what just happened? Why is my body reacting like this to a kiss?

“See, that looked fun,” Sage says, reminding me of her presence.