She chuckles slightly, her eyes dropping to my stomach again. “You’ve been working out,” she observes, her tone almost questioning. Her hand continues to trace the ripples on my stomach, and her eyes lock on mine. “I bet the girls in London were all over you.”
She lifts her hand, her fingers tracing lightly over my chest, sending a shiver down my spine. I swallow hard, feeling a rush of warmth at her touch as she moves even closer. “Chris?” she whispers.
“Hmm?”
“Truth or dare?”
Fuck. I can’t think. My brain is foggy, it’s hot in here, and I want her so bad that I can’t remember why this is a bad idea.
Because she’ll forget.
I suck in a breath, wrapping my arm around her hand, halting her. “I think it’s time we stop.”
She frowns, shaking her head. “I don’t want to stop.”
I rake a hand through my hair. “You’re drunk,” I remind her.
She shrugs. “Hardly.”
My jaw ticks. “You’re two sips away from doing something you’ll regret tomorrow.”
Her eyes narrow slightly. “How do you know I’ll regret it?”
Because you have before.
I reach into the back seat, grabbing my hoodie and slip it back on. “Just get some rest,” I say quietly, avoiding her eyes. “I’ll drive us back in the morning.”
Gabi doesn’t reply. She kicks off her shoes and turns away from me, staring out of the window until we both fall asleep.
Chapter 20
Promposal
Age Eighteen
Dripping wet and reeking of chlorine, I sit down next to Chris, grabbing a towel beside him. “You’ve been sitting here all night,” I tell him, arching a brow. “Are you not going to jump in?”
He shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips as he rakes his eyes down my body, following the stream of water. My heart races, and I feel a blush creeping up my skin as his eyes linger on me. “I’m not big on swimming.”
A soft chuckle escapes me as I dry my hair with the towel. “Then why even come to a pool party?”
He shrugs, his gaze locked with mine as he blows out a cloud of smoke. “Because you’re here.”
I suck in a breath, my heart flipping in my chest. I know he probably doesn’t mean anything by that. Stacy invited me to her pool party since her parents would be out of town, and of course, I invited Chris to come along. He goes everywhere with me. We’re always together. He’s my best friend. But… I can’t help the thoughts in my mind, wishing his words and his eyes on me meant something more.
I don’t know when these feelings started, but one day I woke up and he went from being my best friend to…Chris.
And I don’t know what to do about it.
A part of me wants to tell him. A part of me wants to tilt my head up when he’s in my bed and we’re cuddling, and press my lips to his. I think about it all the time. How it’d feel, if he’d pull away… but nausea creeps up my throat at the thought. He’s my best friend. He means more to me than anyone else in this world, and the possibility of him rejecting me and ruining our friendship breaks me.
I can’t take that chance. Not unless I know he feels the same.
“So,” I say, reaching for the blunt in his hand before I take a drag. “Have you decided who you’re going to prom with?”
There’s only two weeks until prom, and exactly six weeks until I can finally say goodbye to this town and escape to Redfield.
“Don’t know,” Chris says with a shrug, taking the blunt from me. “Not really my scene.”
