Between Friends

by Sandra Marie

  “If you throw even one of those, I’m burying you.” Her face was piercing red, her eyes glimmering with fun and friendship and life. His hand gripped the snowball, and the corner of his mouth tipped upward.

  “I’m serious,” she warned again.

  “I know.” He tossed the snowball anyway, flinging it across the driveway and getting her square in the hip. She marched over with purpose, chasing him around the old man’s front yard. He faked her out, running left while looking right. He dodged the first three attempts she had at tossing shovelfuls of snow his way, but his feet slipped in the middle of the yard, and he slammed down on his knees.

  Rae stood over him, a wicked grin on her face. Ice cold snow cascaded over his head, and he ducked and covered, laughing and yelling into the night.

  “We even?” she said from above him, her chest moving up and down, her breath pumping in and out of her lungs. A satisfied smile spread on her lips, and he took a look at himself, snow clinging to every part of his coat. His hands were rosy red, shaking with exhilaration and lack of warmth.

  But his desire to have fun with her was more immediate than getting warm, or even shoveling the rest of the drive. As Rae turned around to get back to work, he pushed to his feet, snagged her around the waist, and took her down into the plush snow.

  “I’m in a dress, you butt!” she giggled into his ear. Her body bumped against his, and he wrestled her into tickle time. His hand wrapped her wrists together and pushed them over her head. Her smile was ear-to-ear as she shook her head in the snow they rarely got back home.

  “Don’t you dare, Thomas I will kick you right in the… Stop! Oh my gosh, I’ll pee on you!”

  He tickled the spots on her neck that got her every time, the beat of his heart increasing with joy at her snorts that ran wild through the air.

  “I give!” she said, and he loosened his grip on her wrist. Their breaths mingled together as they rested, and Tommy’s chest clenched and knotted in confusion. Her pink cheeks melted his resolve, her smile reaching a spot inside him that said “Don’t let her go.”

  His eyes locked onto hers, and he searched her soul, knowing he could find it easily. Her soul was perfect. Fun and playful, sweet and caring, resilient and strong…

  “Can we do something really stupid?” he blurted.

  She tilted her head. “How stupid?”

  “Potentially ruin our friendship stupid.”

  “You already tackled me in the snow. In a dress.” She blew a raspberry at him. “If that didn’t ruin it, then what will?”

  He knew exactly what would. Rae was the one thing in his life he couldn’t risk. She was his best friend, his soulmate, his everything. She was the rock that kept him planted when he wanted to fly too close to the sun. She was the steady stream of water when he wandered in a desert. He couldn’t risk losing her, and yet… tonight, he felt himself taking that one risk he never thought he would.

  He put his hands on her cheeks and pulled her in, his lips closing over hers in an instant. A small squeak of surprise escaped her, but it quickly fell away as he moved his mouth against hers, kissing her upper lip, her bottom lip, dipping his tongue inside for a simple taste that just wasn’t enough.

  She was that drop of alcohol he’d missed for seven years, getting him drunker by the second. The snow and cold around them had nothing on the heat burning through his chest. His thumbs teased her jaw, coaxing her to open wider for him. She obliged, and like he’d predicted, she was a phenomenal kisser. Her lips matched his intensity and drove his inner beast wild. Her tongue slipped inside and slid across his in luxurious, spine-tingling strokes, and his mind exploded.

  Her leg hitched up his thigh, and he let go of her chin and hooked her goosebumped knee. He pulled her close, hoping to warm her and keep her next to him forever. A groan rumbled deep in his throat, and her arms circled his neck, their coats rustling together, the sound adding to the pounding of his heart and the sexy as hell wet smack of their mouths meeting and parting. Her heady breath warmed him from the inside out, and her body felt so right underneath his. The snow was near forgotten, but he didn’t want her to freeze.

  He left her mouth, kissing a path down her neck. He slowly started to lift off her, but she grasped the buttons on his coat, pulling him back in. Their mouths met, and their tongues danced, and his heart was gone. It sneaked right out of his chest and nestled into her pocket.

  “What…” she breathed between kisses. “What are we doing?”

  “Making out,” he said, smiling against her lips. She gave him a look, and for the first time in their friendship, he felt okay to kiss that look away.

  “How…” she continued. “How are you… so good at it?”

  “You don’t have to act so surprised.”

  “It’s just… dear God… It’s been a while since… someone was…”

  Her voice trailed off as he nipped her earlobe and open mouth kissed the sensitive skin along her jaw. He took a much needed breath of fresh air before licking down that tattoo, pulling at her coat to get all the way to the end of it. She shivered underneath him, and he couldn’t be sure if it was the cold or his kiss or both, but he wasn’t about to stop.

  She shifted, her leg still hitched on his hip. She aligned them at the core, and a shot of surprise zapped through him. Her hips lifted slowly, then fell against the soft snow. Her head tilted back, exposing more of her beautiful neck. Tommy ran a hand down her skin, tracing a thumb over her collarbone. Was this even real? Were they really stepping over that line they’d drawn a long time ago?

  And if they were, why in the hell had it taken them so long?

  He tucked a hand under her neck and pressed her lips against his again, wanting to kiss her for as long as possible, to never let it end.

  Her fingers twisted against his chest, moving slowly downward. A wave of cold ran over him for a brief moment before he felt her hands slither under his coat and run up his back. He cursed between their mouths, making her snort and turn a shade of red.

  “You have the worst laugh,” he said, resting his forehead on hers.

  “Shut up.”

  “It was a compliment.”

  “Sure sounded like one.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose, and her fingers curled in his t-shirt. Their mouths met once again, their lips battling for who had more power, and he was going to lose.

  He wanted to be closer to her, too, but he didn’t want her to freeze to death. His fingers twitched against her knee, ready to unbutton her coat and slip around her waist, but he held them in place. She needed warmth—he knew all too well the price of getting naked in freezing weather.

  And now he was thinking of her naked, and his kiss intensified. It was a miracle they hadn’t melted all the snow around them, leaving them in a hot spring in the middle of a stranger’s lawn.

  His hand slid from her knee, easing down her thigh. There was a tattoo there, he remembered, from about a year ago. Excalibur decorated in roses and thorns ran across her skin, starting at her hip and ending mid-thigh. He imagined trailing his finger over the hilt, crossing a T and causing a moan to filter from her kiss-swollen lips.

  “Ahem…”

  The voice cut through the night, and Tommy froze. Rae’s eyes popped open, surprise mingled with fear glistening in her baby blues.

  “Good thing I’m not paying you,” the old man said, and Tommy slowly twisted around to meet his gaze. The old man stood at the top of the drive by the garage, amusement settling in the corners of his mouth.

  Rae’s leg dropped from his hip, and Tommy scrambled to his feet. He reached out for Rae, hoisting her upright. They swiped at the snow covering their bodies, Rae’s face painted a guilty shade of red he was sure his own face mirrored.

  “Sorry,” Tommy muttered.

  “Don’t apologize on my account,” the old man laughed. “But you should probably be careful where you choose to express yourselves. My neighbor called me to say a couple of hooligans were having relations
in my front yard.”

  Rae pursed her lips together, most likely holding back a wicked snort. Tommy chuckled and picked up his forgotten snow shovel. “She couldn’t keep her hands off me.”

  “Me?” Rae defended, hitching a hand on her hip. “You tackled me, remember?”

  “Semantics.” Tommy turned to the old man. “I’ll keep my distance till the driveway’s clear.”

  The old man shook his head, a toothless smile on his face. He shuffled into the garage, took out a dusty camp chair, and set it up just inside away from the snow.

  Tommy and Rae shared a look and a silent laugh, then got to making good on their word to shovel the man’s driveway. Even though Tommy jokingly blamed Rae for their impromptu make-out, he knew restraint was up to him, and man was it going to be a challenge.

  The rest of the night went by all too fast and painstakingly slow. After fooling around in the snow, they finished shoveling and they hopped back on the private plane and Judy got them both hot chocolates stat. Rae appreciated the hot liquid. Since she didn’t have the heat from Tommy’s body to warm her, her legs were a red, shivering mess, and she prayed she wasn’t going to catch any remnants of the cold that he had last week. She had a flight to catch in the morning, after all.

  After he warmed her up with hot cocoa and the plane ride home, he took her on a trip to an ice rink where he took her on a Zamboni ride. He said a lawn mower wasn’t practical for mid-February, and it took her a minute to clue in that he was referring to Can’t Buy Me Love. Gosh, he must’ve watched nothing but rom coms during his sick-days quarantine. A laugh puckered up in the back of her throat at the thought of him watching Mandy Moore and Shane West four times and bawling into a box of tissues.

  After that, neither of them wanted to head home, so he played a movie on his phone which they watched in the car—and talked the whole way through. At one point they were both laughing so hard tears streaked down her cheeks, effectively ruining her makeup. Tommy leaned over and cleaned her raccoon eyes, and she swore he was going to kiss her again, but he kept his lips to himself. Boo.

  It was three a.m. when she finally looked over at him in the driver’s seat as they aimlessly drove around the city. “I should probably head home. Get some sleep.” If she even could sleep ever again after tonight. Her body was sunk into the seat warmer, her soul relaxed and free, but her mind was wide awake, and probably would be reliving her favorite parts of the evening.

  “Yeah.” Disappointment sat on the edges of his tone. “I was thinking that, too.”

  He made a U-turn at the light, and Rae brought her fingers to her lips. How could they still be tingling hours after that unexpected and airbending kiss? Her mind had barely processed that it’d happened at all, but her body was pure evidence that it had. The tingling in her lips was only the tip of the iceberg. She could still feel his tongue on her neck, his grip on her thigh. Almost as if he’d tattooed his touch all over her body.

  “So, did I kill it or what?” he said, and just like that, she was brought back to the present. It wasn’t bad, though, being in the moment with this goofball. Kissing each other hadn’t taken away from their rapport, but added to it.

  “I give it a B.”

  He scoffed. “I call foul.”

  “You didn’t check off everything on my list,” she teased. He turned a furrowed brow at her, then put his eyes back on the road.

  “Fancy dinner… check. Fancy dress… check. I even gave you snow. And my epic game came naturally, of course.”

  “Of course.” She rolled her eyes, and then they fell to her hands in her lap. She twisted a ring that sat on her middle finger, the fit loose from the cold. “But… will there be a kiss goodnight?”

  It was bold, yeah. Rae had never been one to shy away from bold statements, but this one had much more at stake. She didn’t want their friendship to shatter, but she couldn’t help but hope for more from it, too.

  “I did kiss you!” he said, lifting his hand off the wheel in defense. “A lot.”

  “You didn’t kiss me goodnight.”

  “Well, that’s coming. Antsy pants.”

  Her nose wrinkled in excitement, and she internally high-fived herself for hedging her bets on more kissing. If tonight was all she had of it, she was ready to take full advantage. Tommy was a freaking principal dancer when it came to the tongue tango, and she craved another lesson.

  She bounced in anticipation and growled when he hit every… single… red light. There was no one on the road, just a real funny ghost playing tricks on them. The plus side was the night lasted a bit longer.

  They passed Tommy’s Tats, and her eyes lingered on the dark windows. She wasn’t sure she could say goodbye to the place, no matter the outcome of the interview. And after tonight, she really wasn’t sure she could say goodbye, not if it meant there truly was a possibility of more with Tommy.

  “You think George missed you?” he asked.

  “I forgot I had a cat there for a second.”

  “Oh geez… Is that thing gonna be safe with you?”

  She smacked his arm, hitting nothing but thick coat. “He’s probably still sleeping in my spot, ruining my butt groove.”

  “You’re not ruining my butt groove, are you?”

  “It’s my couch.”

  The tire bumped against the curb in front of her place, and Tommy slid the shifter into park. “Don’t you mess with my cushion on your couch.”

  “What’re you gonna do about it?”

  An evil grin took over his stupid handsome face, and he bolted from the car to her front door. Rae regretted for the eightieth time giving him a key as she scrambled to catch up, and he was already unlocking his way inside.

  “Don’t touch my couch!” she shouted at his back as he disappeared into her place. When she finally caught up, he’d already swiped the cushion and tucked it under his arm.

  “I’m taking this with me,” he said like a child taking back his toy from the donation bin.

  She spread her arms, blocking the door. “Try fighting me with one free hand, I dare you.”

  She should’ve known better by now. Really, she should. Tommy raised a brow and flipped the cushion into both hands. She had exactly two seconds after he smirked to dodge the incoming missile.

  A yip slipped from her tongue, and she turned, the cushion flumping against her upper back. A sharp sting like an angry wasp snapped against her neck, and her hand flew to the spot.

  “Ack! Son of a…”

  “You okay?” Tommy asked, a smile still in his voice as he crossed the room.

  “Pain. Lots and lots of pain.”

  “Let me see.” His fingers tucked into the collar of her coat and nudged it down. She slowly lifted her hand from her neck.

  He let out a low whistle. “Damn… I’m sorry. The zipper must’ve gotten you.”

  “Hey dork, there’s a zipper on that fluffy thing.”

  “Can I take your coat off? Get a better look?”

  “Trying to get me out of my clothes, I see. Injuring me, getting my layers off…”

  “At least your sense of humor is intact.” A smile tilted his lips, but there was concern laced in his brown eyes. She pushed each button through its hole on her pea coat, and he slid it down her shoulders and hung it on a hook. He nudged the open door shut, keeping the wind from prickling her arms with goosebumps.

  “You win,” he said after a moment. “The cushion stays here.”

  “That’s the price you pay.” She slowly turned, lifting her eyes to his. “Is it bad?”

  “Might leave a mark.”

  “Stop.” She could see the guilt painting his face with worry lines, and she pinched his wrist. “It was an accident.”

  “I’m allowed to feel bad when I hurt my best bud.”

  She tilted her head, holding herself back from rolling her eyes. She’d been hurt a million times worse by so many other people. Tommy wouldn’t ever hurt her, and she knew that for certain.

  A playful gr
in took over, and she tapped his cheek.

  “Hey.”

  “What?” She tapped him on the other cheek.

  “Stop hitting me.”

  “Stop feeling guilty.” She went to tap him again, but he caught her wrist. “See? We’re goofing around. Like always.”

  Her free hand went up, and he snatched that wrist as well. His concern slowly transformed into amusement, and he backed her against the door, pushing her wrists above her head. Her breath wheezed out of her lungs, and she wasn’t sure if it was ever coming back.

  “We have to stop meeting like this,” she quipped. His mouth twitched in the corner, his eyes swiveling between hers. He was still Tommy, but he had a stitch of something she’d never seen before cross his expression, exciting her abdomen.

  “Did you have fun tonight?”

  Her gaze floated to his lips, across the five o’clock shadow on his chin. “Mmmhmm,” she muttered before meeting his eyes.

  “What was your favorite part?”

  This, she nearly blurted out. Everything. The moment he’d pulled that envelope out from behind the front desk at the shop the night had become the best one in a long time. Maybe ever. Definitely the top Valentine’s Day.

  Her lips tingled, and her teeth sneaked out and nibbled, trying to get rid of the sensation.

  Yes… the kissing was her favorite part. She was still living it in her head, hoping for it to happen again as soon as possible.

  “I don’t want to say…” she admitted with a laugh.

  He let out the softest of chuckles and dropped her wrists. Her hands floated down to his shoulders, smoothed over his coat, and landed in the pockets near his waist. She curled her fingers, telling them to behave themselves.

  “Too many moments to pick from, huh?” he said. “Knew I killed it.”

  “You’re so humble about it, too.”

  He took a deep breath, blowing it out and waving his wild hair from his forehead. “Guess that just leaves one more thing.”

  “Hurry it up, will ya?” she teased, but her insides were a firework display, the fuse lit and climbing through her body. She knew the second his lips touched hers, they’d pop off, and her mind would be gone.