Bad for You (Sea Breeze #7)(39)

Going up to my apartment, I knew Green had come in an hour ago. I had heard him and the silence that had followed. He hadn’t brought the party home, and I owed him one. For covering for me tonight and understanding that I didn’t want everyone there messing things up.

The door was unlocked when I walked inside, and Green was sitting in the recliner with a beer, watching late-night television. His gaze swung to meet mine as I closed the door behind me. I owed him more of an explanation. He had taken that one small explanation on the phone and handled things.

“Thanks,” I said as I sank down onto the sofa.

“Yeah. That ain’t gonna do it. I need more than that,” he said, and cocked an eyebrow at me.

I nodded. He was right. He deserved more.

“Trisha invited Blythe to Daisy May’s birthday party. Trisha had lunch with her today and, well, you know what Blythe’s like. You spend five minutes with her, and you’re sucked in. You want to get closer,” I let out a chuckle and shook my head. Damn, I was sunk. “Anyway, then I showed up with Britt, which was a stupid move. I was surprised to see Blythe, and I handled it wrong. She assumed I didn’t want her there because for some goddamn reason she thinks the worst of herself. And Amanda and Trisha were about ready to murder me from the looks on their faces.” I turned and looked at Green as the emotion in my throat started clogging me up again. Fuck, if this didn’t get to me every time I thought about it. “She stood in a kitchen full of people she didn’t know and informed them all they were being unfair to me. That I was innocent and that she didn’t want anyone upset with me.” I stopped and swallowed hard. “She f**king said it was her fault.”

“She defended you,” he said, and I could see he understood. I didn’t have to get mushy and act anymore like a pu**y than I was already. He got it.

“Yeah, she did.”

Green took a long drink of his beer, then leaned forward and sat it down on the table before looking over at me again. “She sees you. Not the guy the others see. She sees you. The guy I’ve known all my life. The one you don’t share. That guy. She saw him when she first looked at you.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked directly at me. “Thing is, I know for a fact people can only see what you allow them to see. You let her see you. I watched you let her see you. Before you even knew her, you’d let your guard, and all those f**king walls you have built around you, down.” He stood up and stretched. I let his words sink in, and I realized he was right. “She’s seen the ass**le the rest of the world sees. Problem is, you let her see the real you first.” He shrugged. “Maybe that isn’t a problem. But I guess you’ll determine that. Just don’t f**k this up. Because, dude, most every man alive would kill to be in your shoes.”

I watched as my best friend walked down the hall to his room. His door clicked closed behind him.

Chapter Thirteen

BLYTHE

The smell of coffee woke me up. Confused, I stared at the ceiling and tried to figure out when I went to bed last night. A cabinet closed in the kitchen, and I shot up out of bed. Just before I went into full-blown panic, last night came back to me as my sleepy mind began to catch up with the rest of me.

Krit. He had been there. I’d fallen asleep in his arms. Spinning around, I looked down at my bed, but the other side didn’t look like it had been slept on. The covers were much neater than they normally were, but the other pillow was still unused.

I slipped into the bathroom to brush my teeth and my hair before walking out to the kitchen to face him. Not that it mattered much. He had been quiet last night when I had come back into the living room after changing. I didn’t have to ask him to know he had been rethinking things.

I had to reassure him that this changed nothing and that we could still be friends. I wouldn’t act weird and get upset over him dating his slew of women. But for my sanity, I could not allow what we did last night to happen again. It had been . . . It had been the most . . . There were no words for what that had been.

Quietly, I made my way into the kitchen and stopped and watched him as he poured a cup and started fixing it the way I liked it. At least he didn’t look like a man who was about to stop being my friend. Had he stayed there all night? On the sofa maybe?

“Good morning,” I said, hating the sleepy sound still clinging to my voice.

Krit jerked his head around then slowly let his gaze drift down my body and back up again. He had seen me in my oversize T-shirt and boxers last night. He picked up the cup in front of him and brought it to me.

“Morning,” he said, a grin tugging at his lips.

At least he didn’t look like scared runaway Krit.

“Made you coffee,” he said as I took the cup from him.

“Thank you.”

He stood there close to me even after I took the cup and we stared at each other. He was the pro at this kind of thing. I had no idea what I was supposed to say. So I waited.

“Was it too much to ask for you not to look so damn good in the morning?” he asked as he reached out and wrapped a strand of my hair around his finger.

“I brushed it,” I admitted.

He chuckled softly. “Next time I want to see it pre-brushed.”

Next time? There would be a next time? I didn’t want to get too excited. He could mean the next time he stays over and watches a movie and puts me to bed.