Skin to Skin

by J. M. Stone

  She rolled her eyes at me. “I’m in on the plan with Allie!” she whispered back, although her whisper was more of a low voice.

  I shot a panicked look across the table at the guys, breathing a sigh of relief when I noted that they were still engrossed in their own conversation and not even looking our way, before I managed to growl through clenched teeth, “What the hell are you talking about? You know what? Not here, not now. We’ll talk later.”

  Emma just shrugged and winked at me, grinning happily around the restaurant like she didn’t have a care in the world. It truly warmed my heart to see her like this, positively glowing and radiating happiness…and, if I’m being honest with myself, a little saddened by it, as well. I mean, that’s exactly what I want for myself but do I ever think I’ll have it? Not likely. That fuckwad Greg pretty much ruined that.

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts and tuned back into Emma, who had her phone to her ear.

  “No, pregnancy brain, you twit. I totally forgot!” She groaned and then laughed at something whoever she was talking to said. “Yeah, I don’t know how I spaced on that, but I’ll be rectifying that situation post haste, gov’nah,” she ended in a horrible fake British accent.

  “Alright…okay…alright…I said okay, geez, Allie!” She listened for a few more seconds before ending the call with, “Kay, bye,” and then whirled on me, that sly smile back on her face.

  I looked at her with a mix of dread and curiosity, knowing she was about to either ask me something or tell me something that she and Allie had just discussed. And lemme tell ya, I wasn’t wrong.

  “Brandon spent the night at your place last night, huh?” She went back to whispering, thank God, but I still glanced at the guys before I answered her.

  “How the hell did Allie know?” I whispered.

  “Come on, Chloe, do you think Brandon thought of staying at your house last night by himself?” Emma scoffed.

  “So you and Allie both knew he was coming to my house after midnight last night?” I asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion.

  Emma chortled with glee and then answered, “He waited until late? Dumbass…what if you’d been asleep?”

  “Okay, seriously, what the hell is going on?” I cringed when I realized that I had spoken out loud and now had the undivided attention of all the occupants at the table, and even some at a couple tables around us.

  I could feel the heat rising in my face as I glared at Emma, who was unable to restrain her laughter.

  “Is this a private joke, or can we get in on it?” Brandon asked, his tone very mild, though curious.

  “Nothing! So, how was your breakfast? Was it good?” Yeah, I totally suck at diversion conversation, can ya tell?

  Chapter 3

  “Well, you ready to go home?” Brandon asked a little while later, after we’d finished eating and walked out to the parking lot with Emma and Luke.

  “Yeah,” I answered, giving Emma a hug, and nodding when she whispered in my ear, “We’ll finish that conversation later, okay?”

  Luke stepped up and gave me a hug, too, and we all went our separate ways. We rode back to my house in silence, the tension building between us again. I laid my head against the window, so sick of feeling this way, being so awkward around him. It’d never been like that between us before and I regretted the fact that I ever kissed him, even as my thighs clenched with heat at the memory of his lips on mine.

  “You okay?”

  His words broke through my thoughts and I jerked my head up, nodding at him but not looking his way.

  All of a sudden, he pulled over to the side of the road and slammed his hands against the steering wheel, making me jump.

  “Chloe, I can’t take this shit anymore! I want my friend back, damnit!” he roared, his words and the tone of his voice making me shrink back in my seat and eye him warily.

  He took a deep breath and ran his hands roughly over his face before looking over at me again. “Look, I didn’t mean to yell, but Jesus, there’s only so much I can take! You and I can’t be in the same room together anymore without the tension being so thick you can cut it with a knife. Unless there’s other people around, and then we manage to act normal…sort of. So we kissed…big fucking deal! It shouldn’t ruin our friendship…I won’t let it ruin it. Can we go back to the way we used to be? Please?”

  I stared at him, his eyes pleading with me, and all I could do was nod. Just nod like a dumbass, even though it felt like I’d just taken a sledgehammer to the gut. I don’t even know why it felt like that, honestly, because there was nothing more between us, just a misplaced case of hero worship or flat out lust on my part.

  “Good.” He nodded sharply and pulled back out onto the street. We were both silent until we got to my house and he dropped me off, waving and smiling jovially at me as he pulled away, but even I could see that it was a bit forced.

  Like a sad sap, I stood in the driveway and watched his truck get smaller and smaller in the distance, until anger at myself took over. Christ…get a grip, sorry ass, I told myself. Shaking my head, I sighed and went inside, determined to find something to do to occupy my Saturday, since Allie had told me to take the day off.

  With my conversation with Allie running on a loop through my head, I cleaned and organized every inch of my house ruthlessly, attacking every task with fervor until the only thing left was to sweep the kitchen tile and the tile in the foyer. Since it was such a nice day, I opened up the windows and blasted my iPod, dancing around as I cleaned.

  I grabbed the broom just as I’ve Got You Covered by Sugar and the Hi Lows began playing, the smooth tones taking me over as I swept and danced along, singing the words at the top of my lungs. Not thirty seconds into the song, I quit pretending to sweep and just danced around with the broom, still singing, lost in the lyrics.

  I dipped the broom, came up, and spun around, shrieking in surprise when I collided nose first into a hard male chest. My eyes traveled up until they clashed with the stormy, blue-grey eyes of Brandon, who was grinning down at me. Without a beat, he grabbed the broom out of my hand and tossed it away, pulling me into his arms and dancing me around the kitchen.

  Unable to resist, I followed his lead, my knees getting weak when he began to sing the words softly by my ear, pulling me even closer. A shuddering breath left my lips as I melted into him, letting myself just feel for once, even though I knew I could never have more. He shifted me in his arms and I looked up, my pulse racing when I saw that he was looking down at me, all trace of playfulness gone.

  I felt his breath hitch, felt the air charge suddenly with desire, and wondered if I was hallucinating. But no…I wasn’t, to my utter surprise.

  With a muttered curse, Brandon leaned forward and captured my lips in a searing kiss, stealing my breath and lifting me up in his arms at the same time, which was a good thing as my knees buckled.

  He ate at my mouth, biting, sucking, and licking…taking the kiss deeper and deeper until my head was swimming and I couldn’t tell which way was up. After what seemed like an eternity, he pulled back, placing a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. I kept my eyes closed, unwilling to open them and break this wonderful moment.

  Brandon broke the silence on a sigh. “I was afraid of that…” he murmured thickly.

  Blinking, I stared up at him in confusion before I pushed against his chest and moved away, putting some distance between us, trying to catch my breath and gather my wits.

  “I…” I paused, trying to find my words. “Brandon, I’m so confused. You left me here an hour ago, giving me this pretty little speech about how it was no big deal that we kissed and you want to be friends.” I threw my hands up in the air. “Friends don’t show up unannounced at friends’ houses and kiss the living shit out of them!”

  He let out a groan and wiped his hands over his face. “I know!” he shouted. “I know that, but then I felt like an ass for the way I left things, forcing you to agree to our friendship, but you don’t want to be my friend, do you?�
� He shook his head, answering himself. “No, you don’t because I’m an asshole and I took advantage of you when you were drunk. I shouldn’t have led you on that night in the hotel…”

  He broke off and moved over to where I stood, clinging to the kitchen counter as I tried to ground myself just a little bit. “I just had to know if it was a fluke, Chloe. If it was a fluke that I felt the whole world light on fire when your lips touched mine when we were in L.A.”

  I swallowed thickly, emotion clogging my throat. “But…you didn’t take advantage of me, Brandon. In fact, I took advantage of YOU!” I exclaimed, feeling the mortification take me over again. “And I DO want to be your friend…we’ve been friends for years and I don’t want anything to change that,” I said softly, regret and a tinge of fear coloring my words.

  His face softened a bit before his brow furrowed again. “No.” He was shaking his head emphatically. “No, no you didn’t take advantage of me, Chloe. I didn’t stop you right away, I took the kiss deeper. I kissed you back! God, I fucking kissed you back. You tasted like sunshine and tequila, and I wanted nothing more than to throw you on the bed and bury myself between those tight little thighs of yours.”

  Whoa. Totally did not see that one coming.

  “Well, holy shit, cowboy, why don’t you tell her how you really feel?”

  I jumped and shrieked again, which seemed to be the theme of the day since everyone had decided to show up unannounced and scare the living hell out of me.

  Leah stood in the kitchen doorway, leaning against the doorframe with an avid expression. “Please, don’t let me stop this conversation…I’m dying to hear what else you have to say.”

  “Leah…” I said on a groan, closing my eyes and tipping my head back.

  She threw her hands up and said, “Okay, okay! I’m just gonna go wait on the back porch and let you finish your talk. But then, I’m kidnapping you for the day because you’re going to the fight with me tonight.” She whirled around and disappeared, heading back to the porch, I guess.

  Brandon and I both were silent for a moment, staring after her before we both began to speak, each talking over the other. We both stopped and started again, and then laughed. I held up my hand and he nodded, giving me the go ahead.

  “I don’t know what to say. You’ve thrown me for a total loop right now…but I still don’t understand why you came back here today and kissed me. Why, Brandon? Especially after that speech you gave me in the truck…”

  “I just had to know, like I said, if it was a fluke. Chloe, I don’t know what’s happening, but…I’m scared as fuck right now that I’m about to screw shit up. I shouldn’t have made such a big deal out of wanting to stay friends earlier, but for shit’s sake, I am so tired of the tension whenever we’re together.”

  He brought his hand up and cupped my cheek gently before he grabbed my arms and pulled me up against him, chest to chest, our breath mingling as he dipped his head close to mine. “You still taste like sunshine and I should just walk away, but damnit, woman...”

  “But…Allie…” The words fell off my lips before I could hold them back.

  He froze, every muscle in his body tensing. I could feel him fighting back the myriad emotions that had to be weaving through every inch of him at the moment and I felt like even more of a bitch for causing it.

  After a moment, he dropped his hands, blew out a deep breath, and moved away to lean against the counter by the sink. I started to apologize but stopped when he shook his head at me.

  “Let’s get something straight, okay? Listen up because I’m really tired of people throwing her up in my face. Allie and I, and Emma too, incidentally, talked about this just the other day. In fact, it was after she’d been over here with you when you broke down and told her about the kiss.”

  I gasped but didn’t say a word, letting him continue.

  “It’s okay, Chloe. I’m not mad. It’s best that it’s out in the open anyway, especially because Allie and I are so close. She came to me to let me know that she’d been set straight about a couple things, so I guess I should thank you. Anyway, there was nothing between Allie and I when we kissed. You know that, Chloe, even though I know you also feel like you betrayed a friend. And I’m pretty sure you felt like you betrayed not only a friend, but our friendship and your brother. Right?”

  I nodded.

  Brandon moved toward me and motioned to the kitchen table. We each took a seat, settling in to continue the conversation.

  “Look. I walked away from the situation with Allie because I’m selfish, like I told you. I want that special love that Emma and Luke have, that Allie and Jacks have…and Allie and I? We loved each other, sure, maybe were even a little in love. But that love was nothing, and I mean NOTHING, close to what she has with Jackson. How fair would it have been to them to stick it out and maybe end up resenting them, or even them resenting me? It wouldn’t have been fair to them, at all, or to me. I don’t deserve anything less, and yes, I said that I wanted it to work because I did! I didn’t walk away just on a whim, you’ve got to know that!”

  His face was earnest and, even if I didn’t know already that he was telling the truth, I would know now, would believe him whole-heartedly.

  “I was going to talk to them both and then Jacks got into that awful fucking accident and things just were spiraling out of control. I was so scared that we were going to lose him, and she kept pushing me away…and then I overheard Allie pouring her heart out to him, trying to get him to wake up, and she blurted out that she was pregnant and…well, you know the rest. Jacks woke up and I realized that, while she wasn’t really trying to push me away, the truth was staring us all in the face.”

  “Yeah, Brandon, but it just…I mean, you both made it look like it was so easy to do. Like neither one of you were willing to fight for it. Maybe it’s just me, but…” I shrugged, not entirely comfortable talking about this with him, but figuring if he was laying it out, might as well go all in.

  Brandon shook his head. “No, Chloe, it was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life. I can honestly say that, but I can’t regret it. I don’t regret it, because Allie is happier than ever, and she and I are closer than ever. As friends. And she and I are okay, we’re completely and totally fine. And if people don’t like it, if they can’t understand that, well, we do and that’s all that matters. Right?”

  I nodded, not really sure what to say, where to go from here.

  His face softened again. “We’re good, right?”

  I nodded again; there’s nothing else I could say, was there?

  He slapped his hands down on the table, saying, “Oh, yeah. Why the hell was your door unlocked?”

  I straightened, immediately going on the defense. “It was not!” I exclaimed.

  He grinned. “I know. I used my key that I never gave back. And Leah has a key, too, I’m assuming?”

  I nodded. He nodded back at me and slammed his hands down on the table once more. “Now. We’ve got that out of the way. Sooo…” He drew the word out, waggling his eyebrows exaggeratedly at me before he said, “Wanna make out?”

  The question caught me off guard so badly that I couldn’t help but crack up, laughing even harder when he pretended to be affronted, slapping his hand across his chest and drawing his head back in mock horror. And just like that, the tension broke and I knew, whatever happened, we were going to be fine, too.

  At least I was hoping so.

  Chapter 4

  I walked out onto the back porch where Leah was waiting, giving her a sheepish grin when she crossed her arms and pouted, glaring at me from where she lay on the lounger she’d dragged over into the sun.

  She and I had gotten closer and closer during the time I’d been here, hanging out together just as much as I did with Allie and Emma. She was younger than me, but that didn’t matter. She was so fun to be around and she just…got me. She knew when to push me and when to let me be. Quite frankly, she’d become my best friend.

  “It’s
about fucking time! Holy hell, I aged a year waiting on your ass! Do you realize it’s already two o’clock now?” she asked, whining. The effect was broken when she swung around, jumped to her feet, and attacked me, questions flying a mile a minute at me. “Oh, my God! Are you gonna fuck him? He kissed you again? Are you dating now? What did he say? What happened after I came outside? Are you gonna get ready now? Is he still here? Where’d he go?”

  Oy. I grabbed her arms, holding her still and forcing her to look at me instead of jumping around like a Chihuahua on crack. “Calm your hyper ass down, slick! One question at a time!” Yeesh!

  She waved a hand at me impatiently, gritting out, “Just fucking spill! We don’t have time for questions anymore. Tell me while you’re getting ready!” She slapped my hands away and yanked my arm almost out of the socket as she pulled me into the house and to my bedroom.

  “First off, sorry it took so long, but I guess it needed to happen sometime and he decided it was today. I can’t believe that you actually waited out here for so long. Where are we going, anyway?” I asked. “You said something about a fight?”

  She shrugged. “I just laid in the sun. It was kinda nice and relaxing and I didn’t feel like going home just to come back and steal you later.” Then she grinned wickedly. “Anyway, remember when Calland called and asked if anyone wanted to go to the fight with him? Well, he lined up the tickets really early, so it’s FINALLY time to go! Whoo hoo! Get to watch hot guys beat the shit out of each other…what’s better than that?” Leah crowed, rubbing her hands together and licking her lips crazily.

  “Uh, well, you blood thirsty violence whore, a lot is better than that to my mind. Why do I have to come?” Yeah, I whined a little bit, but UFC stuff really isn’t my forte. I was not very excited to go, but I wouldn’t make her go alone. “And why the hell are you here so early when I know the fight can’t be until later tonight?”

  “Because Calland invited that girl he was seeing, what’s her name…uh…Katie or something? She lasted longer than most of them but on game night when she got handsy in front of everyone kinda ruined it for my brother, so he’s got an extra ticket and I told him I wanted it for you. And because I was bored and I figured that we’d get dolled up, get some food, get some drinks and then go. That’s why, now GET READY!” she shouted, rooting through my closet and throwing clothes at me.