The Rules of Dating My Best Friend's Sister(29)
“I’ll sleep on the floor. You can have the bed.”
“No, Holden. This is all my fault.”
The clerk motioned between us. “I take it you two aren’t a couple?”
“We’re old friends,” I said.
She smiled and spoke to Holden. “I get off at twelve, if you want a place to sleep, and I won’t make you sleep on the floor.”
Seriously? I felt like punching this ballsy woman. I dug into my purse and pulled out my credit card, giving her a big, fake smile. “We’ll take the room and figure it out.”
***
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” I said, fishing through my overnight bag.
Holden had taken an Uber to my car to get a few things I needed and talk to the clerk at the gas station. Then he’d stopped at Wendy’s to grab us some dinner on the way back.
“Is something missing from your bag?” he asked.
“No. I just realized I don’t have anything to sleep in.” I shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ll just sleep in what I’m wearing.”
“You don’t have a T-shirt or something?”
“I do. But it won’t even cover my butt.”
“Well, I usually sleep naked, but I’ll spare you and keep my boxers on.” He reached for the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it to me. “You can use this. I just put it on before I left the apartment. It’ll be a nightgown on you, you’re so small.”
I swallowed at the full visual of Holden’s naked chest. He was tall and lanky, but damn, he still had that great six pack that I’d loved to check out when I was a teenager. When he caught me ogling, I rushed into the bathroom to get changed and put some distance between us. But when I slipped on his T-shirt, it felt like he was all around me. The damn thing smelled so good, so very, very Holden, and I couldn’t help but lift the fabric to my nose and take a deep whiff. After, I berated myself silently in the mirror for what I’d done.
You’re engaged.
You love your fiancé.
Don’t be an idiot.
It helped. For about two seconds. Until I walked out and saw Holden making his bed on the floor wearing nothing but tight black boxers. I froze.
God, he’s beautiful.
So damn sexy.
I bet he’s sooo adventurous in bed, too.
“You okay?” Holden looked at me funny.
I blinked a few times before darting to the bed and burying myself under the blanket to cover up. “Yeah, fine. I just didn’t want to interrupt you while you were setting up.”
Holden flashed a crooked smile, and his eyes sparkled. “Sure.”
He finished with his makeshift bed and pointed to the lamp on the nightstand. “Can you hit that light next to you? I’d do it, but I don’t want you to feel guilty for checking me out again…”
My eyes widened. “I was not checking you out.”
He chuckled. “Whatever. Just turn off the light, Lala.”
I did, and we were both quiet for a few minutes.
“You know,” Holden said. “It’s okay to look at other people. It’s natural to appreciate the human body.”
“I wasn’t checking you out, you egomaniac. I’m not fourteen peeping through my bedroom window anymore.”
“Nope, you are definitely not fourteen anymore. You’re all grown up. Not a chance in hell I missed that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re a beautiful woman, Lala. Any man who tells you he doesn’t notice is full of shit. Unlike you, I don’t feel guilty about it.”
“Maybe that’s because you’re not engaged.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. I think I’m just okay with looking. I mean, what do you do when you watch porn? Not look at the guy’s junk?”
“I don’t watch porn.”
Holden was quiet for a minute. “Like, ever?”
“Warren thinks it’s degrading to women.”
“Degrading to women?” His voice was terse now. “Not to men? Maybe you’re not aware since you don’t watch it, but men and women are naked in porn.”
Between seeing Holden’s half-naked body and talking about porn, I was growing hot and bothered. “Let’s change the subject or maybe just try to get some sleep.”
“Fine. Let’s sleep.”
But sleep was impossible. For the next half hour, I tossed and turned, and I heard Holden doing the same on the floor, which I felt bad about. Then there was a bang, followed by Holden groaning.
“Fuck,” he grunted. “Motherfucker.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing. I just rolled over and whacked the corner of the dresser with my shin.”
It didn’t occur to me until that moment that I was making one of my oldest friends sleep on the floor. I mean, I knew he was down there, but I hadn’t looked at it like that. Holden was like a brother to me, and I was being ridiculous.
“This is stupid, Holden. I’m sleeping in a king-size bed, and you’re on the gross hotel-room floor. There’s no reason we can’t share. We’ve been friends since we were kids.”
“It’s fine.”