You're to Blame(36)

As if a lightbulb flips on in her head, her eyes light up with surprise. “You’re the reason those bouncers kept a close eye on Rachel and me.”

“Maybe.” I shrug. “Is that why you came over here, to ask me about this?”

Her tongue dances across her lips, wetting them until there’s a perfect sheen. “I came because we’re friends, and all.”

“We’re friends.”

Her shirt rises and falls with her deep breaths, stretching under the pressure. Maybe the fabric will slip just enough to show me what the rest of that lace bra looks like against her porcelain skin. What the hell am I doing? Look away.

“So, what now?” she asks. “It’s late, but I’m here, so you want to hang out?”

“You and me, hang out?”

“Yeah, you know, two people spending an undisclosed amount of time together until one or both of us can’t stand each other.” She smirks.

God, she’s a smart aleck.

“I know what hanging out means. I’m just not really a hangout kind of guy.” My confession sounds even dumber when I hear it slip from my mouth.

She pulls her knee onto the couch and turns towards me. “You and Jacob hang out.” Her full attention is on me.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t have...” I pause before the word slips from my mouth.

“Were you going to say boobs, Duke?” Charlotte giggles uncontrollably, and the sound makes my heart flutter. Can a guy’s heart even flutter? Fuck, that’s a new sensation. “You were, weren’t you? You’re a ridiculous human being.”

“No, I’m a man, and no man can be friends with a woman without wanting to sleep with her at least once.” I stand and walk into the kitchen. I come back and pop the top on a beer and hand it to Charlotte, which she gladly takes.

“Jacob and I were friends first,” she argues. It would be valid if they weren’t in a full-fledged relationship.

I raise an eyebrow. “And what are you now?”

“But what does that mean for us?” Charlotte ignores my question. She leisurely leans back into the couch cushion, looking every bit like my personal wet dream. Her stare drifts to my bare chest and she takes a long pull from the bottle.

“There’s exceptions to the rules. Take, for instance, Lydia. We’re friends, but that’s because she’s more like a sister to me.”

“What about me?” Charlotte asks, shyly disguising her face behind her bottle.

No, she’s nowhere near like a sister to me.

“You’re Jacob’s.” I take a drink of beer to cool down. Talking about her in any capacity other than the one option we have is winding me tight. “Off limits.”

“And if I wasn’t?” Her lip buckles under the strength of her teeth as she bites down on the plump mound. I’d give anything to feel their softness beneath mine.

Fucking insightful, Duke. Write it in your damn diary.

Charlotte fidgets. The question leads me to presume something I know isn’t possible. But since she crossed it, my mind wants to explore.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She corrects herself when I don’t answer right away.

This is where the trouble comes. Charlotte and I have both done it. We overstep and then backtrack. The problem with our little dance is things said can’t be forgotten when they affect us the way we seem to do to each other.

“Yes, you did, Charlotte.” I clear the fog from my head, resting my arm on the back of the couch. My fingers are desperate to touch her hair. “And to answer your question, no. You’re too nice a girl for me.” Lies. It’s all a bunch of lies.

“You mean, I’m not easy. I’ve seen the girls who hang around you. It doesn’t seem like you have to work too hard for attention.”

“For me, girls have always been simple to figure out.”

“I bet.” Her tone is full of irritation, which thrills me. She doesn’t like my answer to her question. Jealousy is hard to hide, even for the best of us, and right now, it is screaming from her eyes for me to listen.

“There’s a difference between girls and women. Girls bat their eyelashes and put everything they have to offer on the table. Women, well, they prove their worth with their personality and what’s up here.” I lightly tap on her temple, and she shivers. Imagine what else I could do to her. “They don’t need to flaunt their assets to let men know they’re worth the trouble. We already know they are.”

“And you just haven’t found a woman yet?”

“No, I’ve found one.” I tread deep water, knowing I may never make it to shore if I push on. “The thing is sometimes they’re right in front of me, but circumstances never align quite right.”

Neither of us say a single word. Charlotte’s breath becomes erratic, and my hand is desperate to touch her heart, to witness how fast it beats.

“I better get going.” She sets her beer on the coffee table and stands.

“Yeah, okay, that’s probably best.” I follow her to the front door. My hand rests on the top frame as I open it wide. She ducks under my arm to leave. “This has been exceptionally weird.”

“I didn’t mean to...” She pauses. “I made it awkward again, right?”