Page 10

Chapter 10

Darcy

I wake up to slight movement under me and shallow breaths. Panic fills my entire body when I realize what’s going on. I’m sprawled across West, my face tucked against his neck, my hard dick pressing into his hip.

Oh crap. Oh this is not good at all.

With an annoyed groan, I roll to my back, trying to pretend I’m not awake. That I didn’t somehow fall asleep in bed next to West. That this isn’t happening at all. Maybe if I just don’t move and pretend I’m still asleep, I won’t have to face the reality of what I’ve done.

I almost break when I hear West whisper, “Oh holy fuck.”

I only barely resist cringing. I am so stupid.

His voice is raspy in the morning, and that’s something I truly didn’t need to know about him. Maybe if I just sit up, I can pretend it didn’t happen. Doubtful, though .

I’m still debating what I should do when there’s movement beside me. I force deep, even breaths, trying to keep up the facade. I’m seconds away from opening my eyes and forcing myself to face the reality of my current life when something brushes my cheek.

I only just barely keep my face neutral. I think my shock more than anything makes it possible. I tune in to West’s deep breathing when there’s another slight touch along my cheekbone.

Oh God. Is he… is he touching my face?

There’s a shaky inhale, and then the pads of his fingers drift from my cheekbone to my temple and then down to my jaw. I work impossibly hard to stay still and not react.

It’s made even more difficult when he breathes out a near silent, “Wow,” and moves. I can feel his breath on my jaw and my stomach tightens, a slow curl of heat spreading through me at how close he is.

I was hard when I woke up. That was out of my control, I’d venture to guess, but this is no longer that . And is definitely a problem that is getting worse by the feel of his gentle breath against my skin and the warmth of his fingers.

I want to open my eyes and look at him. I want to see the expression on his face, but I’m scared. Terrified, actually. There’s a brush of fingers against my throat, entirely too close to where my pulse is fluttering wildly.

West makes a frustrated sort of sound and pulls away. I can’t see his face, but I can almost feel his reluctance to stop touching me, and I’m not sure what to make of that. He sits up, exhaling hard, and before I can process what’s happening, his weight is gone and he’s leaving the room.

Now what? Do I jump up and try to run away? Do I sit up and pretend I just woke up? I have no idea what the protocol is, but I know I can’t lie here and pretend to sleep anymore. So when I hear his approaching footsteps in the hall, I force my eyes to flutter open slowly, stretching my arms above my head.

I never was a great actor, so it’s anyone’s guess if he buys the act. I can only hope he’s too preoccupied with whatever he’s got going on to pay too much attention to me.

West stops in his tracks as his eyes lock on mine. We just stare at each other in silence for a few minutes, and I have the almost overwhelming urge to apologize. I sit up, tossing the blanket off myself before climbing out of bed.

“Where are you going?” West asks, breaking the silence, and I nearly jump out of my skin.

“Uh, home?”

He blinks at me a couple of times. “Oh. Okay.” Why does he sound so disappointed? Not doing good things to my heart at all. “I was hoping we could go get coffee. Well, I guess tea for you.”

My heart skips an actual beat. “Okay, yeah. I’m good with that.” It looks like he almost sags in relief. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable last night,” I force myself to say.

“What do you mean?” he asks carefully. Too carefully. He knows exactly what I’m talking about.

“Well,” I start, swallowing hard and dropping my eyes. “I—uh, didn’t mean to fall asleep here last night. And I know I can be a bit of a koala in the middle of the night. Parker hates sleeping with me because of it.”

“Parker?” West’s voice sounds a little choked, so I look up, and he’s staring at me, jaw clenched tight, the fingers of his left hand tapping against his palm. “You’ve slept with Parker?”

“Yes? Multiple times.”

He’s silent for a moment, and then he sighs. “Maybe we shouldn’t get coffee after all. ”

Um, what? What in the world changed in the last thirty seconds? “Um… alright. Can I ask why?”

His lips press together tightly as he runs a hand through his unruly hair. He looks… angry, and I can’t quite figure out why. If anything, you’d think this is the reaction I would have gotten when we woke up, but I guess not. He’s quiet for so long that I step toward him, hoping I can skirt around him and make it out of the bedroom without further incident. I make it about three steps from him when his jaw tics, and he makes a frustrated sound low in his throat. “So Parker is your type, then?”

I stop abruptly, my mouth dropping open in shock. Wait, wait, wait. How did we get here? “What?”

He sighs, his fingers continuing to tap out their uneven rhythm on his palm. “I just didn’t know. When I met them, I briefly wondered if they were the type you usually go after. Guess I have my answer.”

My brain does the record scratch sound as I piece together what he’s saying. “Oh my God. Are you… jealous?”

His eyes snap to mine. “No! Why would I be jealous?”

I almost laugh. I want to. This is honestly so ridiculous. I don’t want to believe that he could be interested in me. I can’t give myself false hope. But between this very obvious jealousy and the way he was touching my face? I think I can afford to be a little honest with him. “No. Parker is not my type.”

He stares at me for a second, not moving, barely breathing. “But you’ve had sex?”

If I had water in my mouth, I would be doing a spit take. “I’m sorry. What? No! I’ve never had sex with Parker.”

He blinks at me, his jaw opening and closing, looking a bit like a fish out of water. “But you said…”

“Slept together, West. Like in bed. Normal sleeping. Not sleeping together like sex. Good lord.” All the tension seems to leave him at once, and I truly don’t know what to make of it. “Oh my God. Let’s just go to the coffee shop. I need caffeine. Unless, of course, you really don’t want to go now.”

He shakes his head quickly. “No. I still want to. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I was acting like that.”

I can’t resist rolling my eyes. This is a hot mess. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

Luck would have it that the second we walk into the coffee shop, we almost collide with Parker. Literally.

They’re looking down, probably in their head about something, and almost walk right into me. “Oh, my bad.” They raise their eyes and realize who I am. It takes approximately point five seconds for Parker to connect the dots of who I’m with, and they get a cat that ate the canary grin on their face. “Well, well. What do we have here? Is my little Darcy doing a walk of shame this morning?”

“No, actually. We’re just getting coffee.”

West is suspiciously quiet, and Parker is studying me like a bug under a microscope. “Hmm,” they muse, eyes dropping. “I’d believe that if you were wearing your own pants.”

Crap. I forgot I had West’s sweatpants on. “Mind your own business, Parker. ”

Parker laughs, and West is still being too quiet. Who knew it would be Parker that would ruin my friendship with West and not my inappropriate feelings?

Didn’t have that on my bingo card.

“Just ignore them,” I say, turning to West.

He glances at me before giving Parker his attention. The corner of his lip tilts up in a smirk. “Bold of you to assume having sex with me would lead to a walk of shame, Parker.”

Parker cocks their head to the side, watching West with appraising eyes, before breaking into cackling laughter. “I like him, Darce. You should keep him.”

I stare up at the ceiling, silently pleading that a hole will appear and swallow me. “West,” I groan, irritated. “Don’t encourage them.”

West chuckles, brushing his shoulder against mine. “I’m just saying, Darcy. It’s rude of them to assume that you’d be sneaking out in shame after having sex with me. Which we didn’t do,” he adds, looking pointedly at Parker.

Parker seems downright giddy, clapping their hands excitedly. “This is my favorite day ever. I’ve gotta get to class. Have fun with your straight boy, Darce.”

Why they felt the need to put “straight boy” in air quotes I’ll never know.

“Ugh.”

West laughs. “They’re something else.”

He’s not wrong, but my God. “Let’s just order.”

I start walking toward the counter, but I’m pulled back by a hand around my forearm. West tugs me to him, close enough that our chests are almost brushing. “You’re not mad, are you?” he asks, searching my eyes .

I grumble a bit, but I’m not actually mad, so I shake my head. “No. Parker’s just… so freaking annoying.”

“I kind of like them. I hope we can hang out more in the future.”

Oh, that’s never going to happen. “I’m not so sure about that.”

West’s expression shutters. “You don’t want me to hang out with your friends?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s… ugh. Parker might scare you off.”

For a long while, he doesn’t say anything, and being caught in his stare feels way more intense than it has any right to. His grip on my forearm is firm, but not too tight, and I’m honestly a little surprised that he hasn’t let go of me yet.

His fingers flex against my skin and when I think he’s going to let go, he surprises me by bringing his free hand up to brush along my bottom lip. His eyes drop as he uses his thumb to press in and pull my lip down, forcing them to separate. His own lips part when mine do.

The contact sends electricity down my spine and forces a stuttering breath from my lungs. Oh God. What is he doing?

His throat bobs with a heavy swallow before he brings his eyes to mine. “I’m not sure anything could scare me off at this point, Darcy.”

I swear the entire world tilts under my feet.

West pulls his thumb away from my lip, and my tongue darts out instinctively, wetting the spot where it was. His eyes follow the movement, pupils dilating as he stares at my mouth. This is not like the barely there glances from before. It’s deliberate. Lingering. And it has my heart pounding so hard that it’s making me a little dizzy.

I can’t even speak—my breath caught somewhere between my lungs and my throat, useless and stuck.

He lets his hand fall from my arm and gently nudges me. “Come on. Let’s go get coffee. ”

I follow him because, well, what else am I supposed to do? Melt into a puddle on the floor because West freaking Hale just touched my lip and then stared at me for a solid five seconds like he was debating the merits of replacing his thumb with his mouth?

I’ve just made it to the counter when I hear West order my peppermint tea. It brings a smile to my face despite everything else. Despite the way I’m internally losing it and trying to act like I’m not.

When the drinks are done, West grabs them both and leads me to a table in the corner. I say leads me, but in reality all he does is walk over to it, and I’m helpless to resist the pull.

I sit down across from him, grasping the tea in both hands and bringing it to my lips.

“So,” West says, startling me a bit. “What are you doing this weekend?”

“I’m not really sure.”

He smiles at me. “You should come to my game.”

Weston Hale in football pants. That would indeed be a sight to see. “Yeah? I’d like that. Can I bring Park?”

“Sure,” West says, chuckling a little. “You just want someone around you can enjoy football pants with.”

Not true at all. I can enjoy football pants all on my own. “Guilty,” I say with a wink.

West shakes his head, an amused sparkle in his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything.

We sit in comfortable silence while we sip on our drinks, and I people watch. I love people watching. It’s easily one of my favorite things to do. You learn a lot by watching people and how they interact with each other and the world around them.

“Hey.” West nudges my leg with his foot under the table.

“Yeah?” I ask, turning to him .

“After the game, maybe we can go to dinner?”

I quirk an eyebrow. “Another celebratory dinner? Don’t you think you might be jumping the gun? What if you don’t win?”

West scoffs. “Dinner is not an if we win thing. It’s an I want to do it either way thing. Not a celebratory dinner. A normal dinner. Just you and me.”

My heart takes off again, pounding out an unsteady rhythm as I stare into his deep brown eyes. “Okay,” I croak. “Yeah. We can do that.”

His smile makes my stomach do insane things. I’m not sure how I’m going to survive this crush.